Search for missing hikers in Grand Canyon being scaled back

This Sunday, April 16, 2017, photo provided by the National Park Service shows Tapeats Creek in Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. Authorities are searching for Jackson Standefer, 14, and Lou-Ann Merrell, 62, after the pair lost their footing Saturday and fell into the water during a family trip in a remote area of the Arizona park. (National Park Service via AP) (The Associated Press)

This undated photo released by the McCallie School in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Tuesday, April 18, 2017 shows Jackson Standefer. On Saturday, April 15, 2017, Standefer, 14, and his step-grandmother, Lou-Ann Merrell, were swept down a remote creek in Grand Canyon National Park in Grand Canyon National Park. The family is holding out hope that the 62-year-old wife of a popular outdoor footwear company founder has the skills to keep them both alive until they're found, a family member said. (McCallie School, Chattanooga via AP) (The Associated Press)

Grand Canyon National Park officials are scaling back a search for two missing hikers swept down a stream below the North Rim.

Park spokeswoman Robin Martin says the search for 62-year-old LouAnn Merrell and her 14-year-old stepgrandson, Jackson Standefer, will continue Thursday with the use of a helicopter, drone and motorized inflatable raft.

Martin says ground teams no longer will be used because they've now checked areas that they can reach on foot.

A statement released by the hikers' families says they support the decision to scale back the search and thank all those involved in the effort.

The hikers have been missing since late Saturday when they lost their footing while crossing a stream during a multi-day hike in a remote area of the canyon.