Coppell man recalls escaping deadly Grand Canyon flood that killed 2 North Texas hikers

A Coppell man who escaped the deadly flooding at the Grand Canyon says he initially believed everyone had made it out safely.

"At the time, I thought everybody made it out alive," said David Gregory, whose group was among about 60 people evacuated from the park.

But the flooding killed two North Texas men on a Grand Canyon hiking trip and left a third missing.

Officials say 46-year-old John Giusti and 42-year-old Brent Rosenkranz, both with ties to Granbury, died. Giusti was a chiropractor with his own practice, ChiroHabit. Rosenkranz owned ATA Martial Arts.

As of Tuesday morning, crews were still searching for 53-year-old Timothy Smith, who grew up in Granbury and now lives in Wyoming.

Gregory said he was "very grateful that we made it out."

"When you look at the pictures, especially when you see all that debris floating around in that river," Gregory said, "… but knowing it didn't turn out that way for everybody kind of makes me sad."

A family representative for all three men says they arrived at the park on Friday.

"Their families last spoke with them Thursday evening, when the men were excited and looking forward to beginning their trip the following morning," the representative said. "The families know they reached Bright Angel Campground Friday and went exploring Saturday."

The number of missing people has gone down to one: Smith.

Officials say a scent-detection dog team and a specialized drone team were brought in to help.

CBS News Texas will provide updates as more information becomes available.