A Cybertruck belonging to a New Jersey man who vanished in Grand Canyon National Park has been found abandoned near a treacherous hiking trail.
The eerie discovery is elevating fears for the whereabouts of Thomas Gibbs, 35, who was last heard from around noon on July 22.
Gibbs was reported missing by his family on July 28, the same day rangers discovered his vehicle near the canyon’s remote South Rim.
Investigators believe Gibbs may have attempted the treacherous Grandview Trail, a notoriously difficult path that descends sharply into the canyon toward Horseshoe Mesa.
The trail is described by the National Park Service (NPS) as, ‘rugged, narrow and steep,’ with sheer drop–offs and extreme heat – recommended only for ‘experienced desert hikers’.
The search for Gibbs is unfolding as a ‘megafire’ rages across the Grand Canyon’s North Rim, officials said.
The Dragon Bravo Fire, sparked by lightning on July 4, has scorched more than 105,000 acres, making it the largest wildfire in the U.S. so far this year.
As of August 1, it was just 9 percent contained.
The 6’1 tech entrepreneur is the founder of Gibbs Automation, a Pennsylvania–based software development firm, according to his LinkedIn page.
He had recently been working as a full–stack developer building custom web applications and database systems.
He has brown hair and eyes, no tattoos and was traveling alone.
Officials are urging anyone who was in the Grandview Trail area around July 22 – especially hikers who may have seen someone matching Gibbs’ description – to call the National Park Service Tip Line at 888–653–0009.
More than 4.9 million people visited the Grand Canyon in 2024.
Since 2018, more than 1,100 people have gone missing in the Grand Canyon with at least six confirmed dead – most often from heat stroke, drowning, or deadly falls, according to TheTravel.com.
A glance at the National Park Service’s cold case files shows just how easily people vanish in the vast wilderness.
In 2017, Jonghyon Won disappeared without a trace as no one even knew he planned to visit the park that day.
His abandoned car was later found near a trailhead, but no other clues ever surfaced.
In 2016, Floyd E. Roberts went missing while hiking in the canyon’s backcountry. He separated from his group, intending to meet them later, but was never seen again.
In March, a family of three vanished during a wild storm after leaving the Grand Canyon for Las Vegas.
Jiyeon Lee, 23, Taehee Kim, 69, and Junghee Kim, 64, were last seen on March 13 in a rental BMW. Their last GPS ping showed them heading west on I-40 around 3:27 p.m., according to the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office. They have not been found.