ESCALANTE, Utah -- Garfield County officials say a California couple drowned after being caught in a flash flood while hiking in a slot canyon.

Gordon and Kathy Chapple of Walnut Creek, Calif., were hiking in the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument when the flood hit about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday. Six others were also in the group, including the couple's son and daughter and a pair of hiking guides from Wayne County.

Garfield County spokeswoman Becki Bronson says guides Elizabeth Kleiman and Cody Clapp have said that the Chapples, both 60, were swept away when the flood hit. The rest of the group clung to canyon walls and was able to climb out.

Searchers found the bodies late Wednesday in a downstream drainage. A state helicopter is expected to fly into the area to recover the bodies Thursday.

Bronson says two people in the group were also flown to Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George in southern Utah to be treated for injuries that were not life-threatening.