Arizona authorities have confirmed that human remains found in December are those of a man who disappeared while hiking the Grand Canyon nearly 15 years ago.William Anthony Ott, 65, set out on a three-week solo trek in a remote area of the Hualapai Indian Reservation in April 2012, according to the Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs).
He was scheduled to return on April 28 but never returned. Twelve days later, a missing persons report was filed. Authorities, including the National Parks Department and the Arizona Department of Public Safety, launched search teams, but were unable to find him.
In December 2025, members of the Hualapai tribe found human remains near a trail at the base of a 15-foot cliff. They found the remains in the general area where the original search was conducted.
The remains were turned over to the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office and then to the Medical Examiner’s Office, where DNA analysis was requested. In cooperation with the Arizona Department of Public Safety, authorities confirmed that the remains belonged to Ott.
“On July 1, 2026, DNA testing conducted by the Arizona Department of Public Safety confirmed that the human remains discovered in December 2025 were those of William Ott, a hiker who disappeared in the Grand Canyon in May 2012,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
A life spent chasing ancient art
Ott was no ordinary wanderer. Scott Thiboney, a friend of his who participated in the original search, described him as an “experienced hiker” in 2017, KNAU reported.
He also added that Ott “spent 78 days walking the length of the Grand Canyon in 1981, becoming the first to complete the trek on the north side.”What brings him back to the valley year after year is his obsession with prehistory. He was searching for thousand-year-old rock slabs on the Hualapai Indian Reservation. Photos from the past indicate that he spent years hunting down, photographing and digitally recreating this rock art.
“Ott has stopped by my office several times to talk about his passion, a style of rock art that has been painted for thousands of years.
The multicolored illustrations fascinated him, and their difficulty in finding and inaccessibility added to their appeal.
Thebony, the anthropologist, told Outside that Ott had been living off the grid long before he disappeared. He sold all his possessions and built a cabin with his own tools at Cave Junction, Ore.
He would return to Arizona about once a year to run the river and search for ancient rock art.The remains discovered in December included his daypack, which contained personal items that helped piece together his final moments. But officials have not yet announced the cause of death.The Sheriff’s Office expressed its gratitude to the Hualapai Tribe for locating and recovering the remains, and expressed its appreciation to the agencies who participated in the original search efforts.