Rangers Respond To Fatal Out-Of-Park Shooting

On the afternoon of August 19th, park dispatch advised rangers that a man who’d been target shooting near the Marble Canyon water tanks had been shot in the head. Rangers Kerry and Deanne Haut from Glen Canyon and Paul Ehlert from Grand Canyon responded to the incident, which was outside the park’s boundary. Efforts by the rangers and Classic Lifeguard helicopter medical personnel to resuscitate Steve Knisley proved fruitless and he was declared dead at the scene. Knisely died of a single gunshot wound to his head form a .38 revolver. Preliminary investigation indicates that it was self-inflicted and that Knisley’s fiancée witnessed the shooting. The county sheriff’s office is investigating.