Utah flash flood kills California couple

PANGUITCH, Utah, Sept. 11 (UPI) -- A California couple drowned during a flash flood in Utah's s Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, officials say.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Becki Bronson said the incident in Garfield County, Utah, occurred after a sudden torrent of rain occurred this week during a hiking expedition, the Deseret Morning News said Thursday.

"The guides said it was just a matter of a few minutes from the time the rainfall started to when the flood hit," she said of Wednesday's incident.

The two guides leading Gordon Chapple and his wife Kathy, both 60, were able to free themselves from the flash flood as were Chapple's son, daughter and two other hikers.

The couple's bodies were found downstream after the accident, while two other members of the hiking party were treated for related injuries, Bronson said.

Bronson told the Salt Lake Tribune that the bodies were unreachable Wednesday night due to the depth of the water in the downstream location.

The newspaper said the California couple had been hiking and horseback riding in the area along with their children since Monday.