TAMPA, Fla. — A surgeon and athletic trainer who worked for a Tampa Bay orthopaedic medicine practice were identified as the two hikers who died after floodwaters surged through a narrow canyon in Utah last weekend.
Authorities on Thursday identified Dr. Jeffrey Watson and William “Bill” Romaniello as the two hikers whose bodies were recovered this week after they went missing when floodwaters tore through Buckskin Gulch, a slot canyon in southern Utah that is popular with hikers.
Both men worked for the Orthopaedic Medical Group of Tampa Bay, which has offices in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Polk counties.
