Category Archives: Counties

President’s Day Weekend Busy for Search and Rescue

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American Legion Cordova Post #13 posts the colors in Williams on President’s Day.

FLAGSTAFF — While many were off for this weekend in honor of President’s day—perhaps taking selfies at the Grand Canyon—Search and Rescue (SAR) crews had a busy weekend responding to three missions. Rescue assistance from Coconino County Search and Rescue was required in Williams, Ash Fork and Flagstaff.

The first occurred on Saturday at approximately 3:15 pm when the Williams Fire Department requested assistance responding to an injured adult male hiker in the Bennett Spring area. The hiker had sustained a fall and was complaining of back pain. Search and Rescue personnel responded and assisted with interpreting some GPS location information and rescuing the hiker from the location where he was injured.

Williams Fire personnel hiked in and made initial patient contact and SAR personnel hiked in with additional equipment. It was determined that a helicopter short haul rescue was the most appropriate technique due to the patient’s condition. An Arizona Department of Public Safety Air Rescue helicopter from Kingman responded to the scene and picked up a Heli-Rescue Technician from the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office. The Heli-Rescue Technician was inserted a short distance away from the patient and then hiked to the scene and placed the patient, who was on a backboard, into the Bauman Bag which is the device used during short haul rescue. The helicopter then conducted a short haul during which the rescuer and the patient were suspended 150 feet below the helicopter on a rope. The patient and rescuer were flown from the accident scene to Camp Clover landing zone where the patient was transferred to LifeLine Ambulance for transport to Flagstaff Medical Center. The rescue was complete by 6:30 pm.

While the rescue in Williams was occurring the Sheriff’s Office was responding to a report of a missing 9 year old male in the Westwood Ranch area north of Ashfork. The child had been last seen at 1:00 pm at a residence near Stone Lake and had run into the woods following an argument. When the child did not return in a short period of time the family contacted the Sheriff’s Office for assistance.

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Helicopter rescue at Mt. Elden. Coconino County Sheriff photo.

Deputies and Search and Rescue responded to the scene. Both a tracking and trailing search dog and an area search dog were used during the initial response. Additional ground search and rescue and the DPS Air Rescue helicopter joined the search using night vision in forward looking infrared units to search for the child. Due to the large search area additional search and rescue resources were requested from Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office to respond in the morning. At approximately 7:24 AM on Sunday as the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office team were driving to the incident command post location they located the child walking down a road. The child identified himself and asked for help. The child was cold and tired but in otherwise good condition. He was transported to the incident command post and reunited with his family.

On Sunday night at approximately 9:30 PM the Sheriff’s Office and SAR personnel responded to a report of four lost hikers; three males and one female, on Mt. Elden in need of assistance. The hikers had become stranded due to darkness near the waterfall area on Mt. Elden. Rescuers made voice contact with them in that area and then DPS Air Rescue was able to locate them and guide them down the slope which they illuminated with the spotlight. Rescuers met them on their descent and then guided them to the trail head. The hikers were lightly dressed and not prepared for cold overnight temperatures. This was the second rescue in the waterfall area of Mt. Elden in a week.

Search and Rescue would like to remind outdoor recreationists to follow some simple advice to keep them safe and aid in a search and rescue effort if it is needed. Outdoor recreationists should always tell someone where they are going and when they will be back so that if a person does not arrive as expected Search and Rescue will have a place to start the search effort. Recreationists should also carry the 10 essentials on every hike since no one ever intends to get lost or hurt on their outing but it can happen. Those essentials include:

1. Water
2. Food
3. Extra warm clothing
4. Navigation equipment (map, compass, GPS)
5. Headlamp/Flashlight and extra batteries
6. First Aid Kit
7. Shelter Material such as a space blanket or large leaf bag
8. Fire starting kit or backpacking stove
9. Pocket knife or multi-tool
10. Whistle/Signal mirror

An eleventh essential is a cell phone. While a cell phone doesn’t always work in backcountry locations, sending and receiving texts sometimes works when calls don’t. Also, your cell phone can help provide rescuers with important information about the situation and the location.

Missing Man at South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park

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sm-02-03-15-KramerGRAND CANYON – On Monday, February 2, 2015 the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a phone call reporting a missing individual last known to be at the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.

Drake L. Kramer of San Antonio, Texas was reported missing by a family member. Kramer was a guest at Bright Angel Lodge on the evening of Saturday, January 31 and checked out on Sunday, February 1. Kramer is described as 21 years old, 5’7, 140 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes.

The National Park Service is currently conducting a Search and Rescue operation. A missing persons investigation is on-going. No further information is available at this time.Any individual with information on the location of Drake Kramer should contact the National Park Service Silent Witness Line at 928-638-7840.

Sheriff’s office seeks information on missing person

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640-cynthia-wilderFLAGSTAFF – County Sheriff’s Deputies and Detectives are requesting assistance from the community in locating sixty one year-old Cynthia Wilder of Flagstaff, Arizona who was last seen at 5:00 am today at her home located in the Timberline Neighborhood.

Ms. Wilder reportedly suffers from Dementia and at times becomes very confused and disoriented.

Cynthia Wilder is described as a sixty one year old white female approximately 5’1” in height and weighing approximately 105 pounds. She has blue eyes and red/gray hair and wears
prescription glasses. She was last seen wearing blue jeans, a brown sweater with thin blue stripes, Sorel type snow boots and a light brown Shearling type coat with a white lamb’s wool lining.

Community members who believe they may have information regarding Cynthia Wilder’s whereabouts or information regarding her disappearance are urged to call the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office at (928) 774-4523 or toll free at 1-800-338-7888. A photograph of Ms. Wilder is attached to this message.

Coconino County Sheriff’s Office and Coconino County Emergency Management Present Community Emergency Response Team Training

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coco-sheriff-300pxThe Coconino County Sheriff’s Office and the Coconino County Emergency Management Division will present a (three) day Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training class at the High Country Fire-Rescue Station located at 6593 High Country Lane off of Highway 64. More than fifty CERT classes have been delivered to urban, rural and reservation communities throughout Coconino County.

The class will be held at the High Country Fire-Rescue Station beginning Friday, January 23, 2015 from 6 pm to 9 pm, Saturday, January 24, 2015 from 8 am to 5 pm and Sunday January 25, 2015 from 8 am to 5 pm. This training session is offered to all community members free of charge.

CERT Classes are offered by the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office and upon successful completion each participant will receive a Community Emergency Response Basic Certification and a back pack containing basic community emergency first responder gear to include Reflective Vest, Hard Hat, Eye Protection, Gloves, A four in One Tool and a CERT Field Response Guide.

Successful participants who wish to serve their community will be invited to join a team in Coconino County and will receive additional in-service training and will assist their local First Responders during Emergency and Non-Emergency events. CERT Team members in Flagstaff meet monthly for additional training. CERT Volunteers have been utilized during responses to Wild Land Fires, Flooding, Tornados, Heavy Snow Storms and many other natural disasters. CERT Volunteers have served in a variety of capacities to include staffing road blocks, assisting with neighborhood evacuation notification, staffing joint information call centers, assisting with Incident Command Centers, distributing neighborhood safety information and in many other areas. Community members who would like additional information or who wish to register for the basic training that will be conducted at the High Country Fire-Rescue Station are encouraged to call the Community Programs Office of the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office at (928) 226-5089.
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Sweat Lodge Provides Inmates Access to Traditional Ceremonies

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SweatlodgeFLAGSTAFF – The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office has several programs to address the traditional needs of our inmate population. One of these programs is the provision of a sweat lodge ceremony, and recently our facility conducted two Sweat Lodge Ceremonies for inmates.

For some Native American cultures the Sweat Lodge Ceremony provides purification and balance of body, mind, spirit and emotions and can serve as a Prayer Circle, or a Healing Circle transforming the Old Self into the New Self. Rocks are heated in a fire pit outside the structure and then brought inside and placed in a small hole in the ground; there is no fire inside the structure. The ceremony is conducted in four parts and might last as long as three hours with breaks. A traditional Messenger helps perform the ceremony. We plan to make Sweat Lodge Ceremonies available to the inmate population on a monthly schedule.
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This is one of many programs our facility and staff offer to help inmates initiate positive life changes. The programs include opportunities for life changes supported by spiritual, religious, educational, health, and substance abuse treatment approaches. While the Sheriff’s Office strives to make available recognized religious, recovery and a variety of self-improvement programs to the diverse cultures representing in the inmate population, we also recognize that approximately 50% of the people in our custody are of Native American descent. For this reason our programs include Sweat Lodge and a Hogan which may be unique compared to programs offered at facilities elsewhere in U.S. detention facilities. Partnership with the Navajo Behavioral Health Services has been vital to the success of many of these programs.

At the Coconino County Detention Facility we believe that time spent incarcerated can be turned into productive time, and inmates can leave our facility with improved life skills and a determination to make positive changes in their lives. Many of the programs provided to inmates are funded by the Inmate Welfare Fund which comes from commissary and phone usage fees. We are committed to enhancing inmate programs which benefit not only the inmates in custody but also can have broader reaching effects on our community as a whole.

Missing Person Thomas Lang Found Deceased

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thomas langFLAGSTAFF – Sadly, searchers believe they have located the skeletal remains of 22 year old Thomas Lang who was originally reported as an overdue hiker on December 18, 2013. His parents have spent many weekends since the formal search was suspended, hiking areas where they believe their son might be located.

On Saturday, November 29, 2014 Thomas’s parents were searching for their son in the Secret Canyon area located within Yavapai County. Thomas’ mother, called the Coconino County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue advising she believed she found a jacket and shoes that possibly belonged to her son.

Yavapai and Coconino County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue units coordinated a further search effort. The Arizona Department of Public Safety launched one of their Air Rescue Helicopters with a Coconino County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue volunteer on board to conduct overflights of the area where the items were located. During the flight two additional items consistent with what Lang was believed to have taken with him on his backpacking trip were located from the air.

640px-LANG1On Sunday morning a multi-agency intensive ground search was commenced. Agencies who assisted with the search included Coconino County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Unit, Yavapai County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team, Yavapai County Sheriff’s helicopter and Thomas Lang’s parents. At about 10:00 am the crew aboard the Yavapai Sheriff’s helicopter confirmed that the items spotted the previous day were a backpack, tarp, and a guitar. Teams from Coconino County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue, including two search dogs, and Yavapai Sheriff’s Search and Rescue hiked in very rough and steep terrain reaching the items spotted from the air at approximately noon. At 12:45 pm the team located what they believed to be the remains of Thomas Lang.

The remains have not been positively identified and have been released to the Yavapai County Medical Examiner. The Yavapai County and Coconino County Medical Examiners are working together in an effort to identify the remains and determine the cause and manner of death.

The initial search was started after Lang’s father dropped him off at the Manzanita Campground on December 18, 2013 at about 11:00 am. It was Lang’s intention to hike in the area and return on December 22, 2013. When Lang did not return his family members called the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office and reported him as a missing person. It was at this point that a multi-agency, intensive ground and air search was commenced.

Agencies and resources that were involved with the initial search efforts in 2013 included the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office (YCSO), the YCSO Search and Rescue Unit, the YCSO helicopter, the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO), the CCSO Search and Rescue Unit, Lang’s parents, the Civil Air Patrol, the Maricopa County Search and Rescue Unit, the Mojave County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team and the Arizona Department of Public Safety Air Rescue Unit. The formal search was suspended on December 27, 2013 after an extensive five day search.

In addition to the initial search effort, the Civil Air Patrol flew over the search area and took photographs utilizing a high resolution camera in April 2014. On several different dates hikers reported seeing items that they believe might belong to the missing person. In response to these reports the YCSO helicopter flew multiple missions.

Until the recent discovery of items by Lang’s mother, all of the previously reported items were determined not to belong to Lang. Throughout 2014, both the YCSO and the CCSO Search and Rescue Units conducted numerous training missions in the area where Lang went missing with the dual purpose of training as well as possibly uncovering more clues about his disappearance. It is common to conduct training missions in areas where outstanding missing persons are believed to be.

71 Year Old Seligman Area Man Arrested for Homicide

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hollman, richardFLAGSTAFF – On Saturday, November 15, 2014 at approximately 10:00 AM, Richard Hollman called and reported he had shot his wife at a home located west of Seligman, AZ . Arizona Department of Public Safety and Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office officers had units closer to the area and responded to the scene first. They detained the suspect and confirmed the victim was deceased while Coconino County Sheriff’s deputies were in route. The suspect in the case is identified as 71 year old Richard Hollman. The victim was later identified as 62 year old Carol Sheansy.

Detectives of the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office investigated the scene and interviewed Hollman who implicated himself in the shooting death of Sheansy. Detectives obtained a search warrant for the residence and located a weapon believed to be used in the homicide along with over 20 pounds of high grade marijuana.

Hollman is currently being held in the Coconino County Detention Facility on a First Degree Murder charge; his bond has been set at $1,000,000. This incident is still under investigation and further details are not available for release at this time.

Mohave County storing MRAP vehicles

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No stranger to controversy, Arizona Representative Brenda Barton posted this picture of a mine-resistant ambush protection vehicle being stored in a county yard on Vanderslice in Mohave Valley on her Facebook page.

The heavily armored 4×4 “Cougar” manufactured by General Dynamics Land Systems carries 2 crew and 4 troops. It can be outfitted with M240 7.62mm machine gun or M2 .50 cal machine gun. It has a top speed of 65 mph and an approximate range of 420 miles.

Since it is unclear what threat of invasion Nevada and California pose, the question Representative Barton directed to State Senator Kelli Ward was:

Just ask’n what’s this doing in the Mojave County road yard (right next door to the Sheriff’s compound)?

Senator Ward responded:

I have sent this picture to County personnel who would have the answer about what this is and I expect to know by Monday.

Some comments echoed the concern over the controversial move of militarizing police and Sheriff departments across the country.

Katie Miller Militarization of our police and sheriff depts??

Roy Hagemyer So, which one of our elected officials is going to stand up and do something about this??????????

Frank Costigan Intimidating the public. I was a Cop for over 35 years, never once saw a need for military war equipment. This is beyond a police state mentality. The public is not the enemy, it’s the cops employer’s.

Some of the comments were supportive of the vehicle.

David Lipinski Mohave. ..no J. Brenda, this is my neck of the State. Consider some of the issues we have in rural mohave county, and this peice of equipment might come in handy. Better to have it than not.

Don Alexander Navajo County Search and Rescue could use one.

One person commented

Roy Hagemyer This vehicle is sitting in the County yard on Vanderslice in Mohave Valley. I talked with an elected official, whom I will not name at this time, and he said it might belong to FEMA for monitoring a dam breakage…… But why this type of vehicle???

In a video published in April of this year, singer/songwriter and freedom advocate Gianaluca Zanna asked the same question. The video shows two armored vehicles stored by the Kingman Police Department.

Charles Black, veteran of Afghanistan and resident of Kingman, alleges that David Lux, Chief of Police of Kingman is, “…siding with federal agencies.”

Mr. Black said, “He’s fighting State bills going through right now that keep the feds out of our area, and out of our counties, our cities, our State. He wants money from the federal government and he wants federal support.”

He said that the city does not even own the vehicles, but are required to pay for maintenance on it. They are on loan from the federal government which can seize them at any time for their own operations. He mentioned the close proximity of Mohave County to the Bundy Ranch.

Bundy Ranch is in Nevada and the site on which the Bureau of Land Management sent in heavily armored troops to save the desert tortoise.

Gianluca Zanna is a legal immigrant from Italy. His rock music videos can be seen on YouTube. His music can be purchased through his web site.

Yavapai election results

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Arizona-electsHere is an unofficial list of the voting for Yavapai County based on the reported results. Results must still be canvassed to be final. Offices and Propositions decided on a higher level are excluded. Offices with only one candidate are excluded because, quite frankly, if you cannot figure that out, we do not want you wasting our bandwidth.

OFFICES

City of Sedona Council Member
Scott Jablow 1,324 (634 Coconino votes)
Rio Robson 690 (293 Coconino votes)
Write-in 26

Constable Bagdad/Yarnell
Dennis Dowling 1,185
Jim Armstrong 553
Write-in 5

Justice of the Peace Seligman
Dominick Sarno (IND) 277
Wade Simon 211
Marcus Jacobson 145
Write-in 0

Camp Verde USD #28
Kitty McDowell 1,447
Tim Roth 1,277
Mick Marton 1,041
Write-in 22

Clarkdale-Jerome ESD #3
Laurie Lozano 616
Becky O’Banion 555
Dale Williams 497
Robert Szmanda 391
Write-in 7

Prescott USD #1
Maureen Erickson 10,350
Greg Mangarelli 8,139
John Lamerson 7,198
David Stringer 5,624
Write-in 75

Yavapai College District 2
Deb McCasland 4,816
Herald Harrington 3,331
Write-in 37

Yavapai College District 5
Dale Fitzner 2,312
Steve Irwin 5,006
Write-in 37

Black Canyon Fire District
Daniel R. Brett 359
Jim Speer 356
Sharon McMahon 326
Write-in 9

Mayer Fire District
Paul F. Coe 686
Jack Williamson 675
Russ I Dodge 637
Chuck R. Leon 589
Bill G. Slankard 474
Write-in 24

Red Tock Road EMD
Ruth E. Kane 1,142
Paul Gazda 1,083
Steven L. Fiedler 834
Write-in 8

American Ranch DWID
Monte L. Anderson 38
Jason J. Gisi 35
Charles Dickson 29

Mayer DWID
Bob Kaufman 186
James W. Sherwood 175
Kathryn L. King 168
Frank C. Soto 158
Write-in 3

PROPOSITIONS

Proposition 431
NO, AGAINST THE BONDS 2,129
YES, FOR THE BONDS 1,011

Proposition 432
YES 1,589
NO 1,472

Yavapai County Jail District
NO 34,386
YES 31,692

Proposition 433
YES 1,429
NO 973

Cottonwood-Oak Creek ESD Question
YES, BOND APPROVAL 4,248
NO, BOND APPROVAL 3,155

Mingus Union HSD Question
NO, BUDGET INCREASE 4,609
YES, BUDGET INCREASE 3,927

The vote on local issues

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Arizona-electsHere is an unofficial list of the voting for Coconino County based on the reported results. Results must still be canvassed to be final. Offices and Propositions decided on a higher level are excluded. Offices with only one candidate are excluded because, quite frankly, if you cannot figure that out, we do not want you wasting our bandwidth.

OFFICES

Judge of the Superior Court Division 1
Jacquelin Hatch 13,876
Brent D. Harris 9,770
Write-in 72

Mayor City of Flagstaff
Jerry Nabours 6645
Jamse Hasapis 4905
Write-in 30

Council Member City of Flagstaff
Celia Barotz 6,425
Eva Putzova 5,455
Scott Overton 5,359
Charlie Odegaard 5,229
Jim McCarthy 4,814
Mark Woodson 4,313
Write-in 84

Council Member City of Sedona
Scott Jablow 634
Rio Robson 293
Write-in 9

Blue Ridge Fire District Board Member
James Denham 101
Alma Seward 101
Linda Hammer 79
C.E. Buddle 74
Tammy Rosenhagen 71
Rosemary Jaeger 39
Jerry Smith 97
Write-in 1

Tusayan Sanitary District Board Member
Robb Baldosky 30
Tober Evans 46
Yvonne Trujillo 44
Write-in 1

Coconino Community College District 1 Board Member
Nathaniel White 2960
John R. McDonald 1447
Write-in 20

Page USD Board Member
Robert Candelaria 1770
Delores McKerry 1328
Carol Addy 1332
Write-in 32

Tuba City Unified School DIstrict Board Member
Mary Worker 1760
Lee Tsinigine 1661
Roland H. Bennett 1237
Priscilla Kanaswood 861
Write-in 20

Williams Unified School District Board Member
Michael Fleishman 721
Ann Wells 670
Alyssa Dennison 329
Glenna Christiansen 313
Write-in 11

PROPOSITIONS

Proposition 403 Coconino County
YES 18,567
NO 10,573

Proposition 406 – Flagstaff
YES 7,628
NO 4,555

Flagstaff USD Question
YES 11,191
NO 7,077

Tuba City USD Question 1
YES 2,188
NO 1,085

Tuba City USD Question 2
YES 2,057
NO 1,215

Proposition 407 Town of Tusayan
YES 51
NO 26