FLAGSTAFF — During Sunday through Tuesday of this week deputies and the dedicated men and women of the Sheriff’s Search and Rescue (SAR) unit responded to five calls for help during all hours of the day and night and at times under very hazardous conditions to help their fellow men and women.
On Sunday, October 11, 2015 at about 6:00 pm the Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call reporting that an adult male and his teenage daughter both of Flagstaff were stranded in the West Fork of Oak Creek Canyon. A Sheriff’s Office SAR coordinator requested assistance from the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) Air Rescue Division. The DPS helicopter based in Phoenix responded and conducted an air search over the area where the two stranded hikers were believed to be. Crew members were able to determine that both subjects were uninjured and were well prepared with provisions and camping equipment to spend the night at their current location. At daybreak Monday morning the SAR Technical Rescue Team and the DPS helicopter based in Flagstaff responded to West Fork Canyon. Two rescuers hiked down to the hikers’ location and prepared them for transportation via the short haul method. During the first trip the teenage girl and a rescuer were suspended beneath the helicopter on a cable and flown to an area where they were safely lowered to the ground. During the second trip the adult male, the family dog and a rescuer were transported out of the canyon via the short haul Method. Neither of the hikers required any medical attention.
On Monday, October 12, 2015 at about 4:00 pm an Arizona Game and Fish officer called the Sheriff’s Office to advise of an overdue hunter in the Blue Ridge area located west of Lake Mary Road. An adult male and his granddaughter were hunting elk and one of the two subjects shot an elk. For an unknown reason the two subjects became separated at approximately 1:30 pm. The granddaughter used her cell phone to alert the Arizona Game and Fish. The Sheriff’s Office deputy stationed in Blue Ridge and Search and Rescue personnel responded to the area and met with the Game and Fish officer who reported the incident to the Sheriff’s Office. They began a ground search and a Game and Fish officer located the missing hunter. The hunter did not require medical attention and was returned to his vehicle.
On Monday afternoon the Sheriff’s Office sergeant who serves as the SAR coordinator was in the process of assisting with logistics in the search for the missing cliff jumper in Lake Powell when he was made aware of a missing adult female and her 14 year old son who were hiking on the Kachina Trail of the San Francisco Peaks. It was believed that the two left the Arizona Snowbowl parking lot at about 1:30 pm for the purpose of taking a short hike. At sundown the two became disoriented and wandered off the trail by about a half of a mile. On duty deputies hiked the Kachina Trial and located the lost subjects and escorted them back to their vehicles.
During that same afternoon the SAR coordinator was contacted by Havasupai tribal officials and informed that a hiker in Supai Canyon injured her leg. Members of the Supai Rural CERT team were able to transport the injured hiker to Supai Village. Tribal Officials requested assistance in having an air rescue helicopter transport the injured hiker out of the canyon and to a medical center.
