The grieving wife of missing hiker Timothy Allen Smith confirmed that human remains recovered in the Grand Canyon earlier this week belong to her husband.

Smith, a 53-year-old father of three and pilot from western Wyoming’s Star Valley, died along with his two friends, chiropractor John Giusti, 46, and martial arts instructor Brent Rosenkranz, 42, when catastrophic flash flooding hit the national park.

Timothy Allen Smith with his family. Carrie Smith/FacebookBright Angel Canyon, middle left, the scene of flash floods, meets with the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon on Aug. 31, 2026, at Grand Canyon National Park, Ariz. AP Photo/John Locher

“My family has done a lot of waiting over the last three weeks…waiting and hoping Tim (Daddy) would come home, waiting and wondering if the remains found were Tim (Daddy),” Carrie Smith wrote in a heartbreaking Facebook post.

“We no longer have to wait, Tim was found two days ago by the Rangers at Grand Canyon National Park. Not in the way we had hoped, but we know that he was doing something he loved with John and Brent,” she continued.

“We know that these three men loved the Lord and were a shining light for Him. The impact their lives had on others is still being shown to our families daily.”

Carrie Smith shared heartbreaking photos of the beaming dad surrounded by his wife and three children — two sons and a daughter.

Flash flooding damaged trails and infrastructure in the Grand Canyon, as seen on Sept. 3, 2026. USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

She said that her husband was an avid outdoorsman who loved taking the family on hikes.

The grieving widow had been holding out hope that he survived up until the day he was identified.

“Please continue to pray with us for the safety of the people working in the canyon, Tim to be found, and my friends who are grieving,” she wrote last week.

Officials have confirmed that the remains recovered Monday belong to Smith. Courtesy of Smith familyA view of the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. Bruce Grubbs – stock.adobe.com

Smith’s remains were recovered near Crystal Rapid on the Colorado River on Monday, according to the National Park Service.

The three friends were on a multi-day hiking and fishing trip when the flash flood began following torrential downpours around 2:30 p.m. on Aug. 29.

The flooding destroyed footbridges over Bright Angel Creek, ripped debris and metal structures into the Colorado River and severely damaged infrastructure throughout the canyon.

Emergency crews rescued more than 80 people in total from the canyon, many of them airlifted, during the two-day deluge.

The bodies of Guisti and Rosenkranz, both from Granbury, Texas, were found on Aug. 30 and 31.

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