Tag Archives: Coconino County Sheriff

ATV Fatality Near Forest Lakes

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FOREST LAKES – On May 8, 2022, at about 1:00 PM the Coconino County Sheriff’s  Office received a report of a missing 8-year-old child from a campsite near Bear Canyon Lake. Due to the remote location, Sheriff’s Deputies, DPS Troopers, and Forest Service personnel responded to the call. While responding, a second report was made that the juvenile had been located and had been involved in an accident.

The subsequent investigation revealed the Mesa area family had been camping near Bear Canyon Lake when the child went missing. The child had reportedly taken the family’s ATV. The family immediately reported the incident to the camp host and began looking for the missing child. A short time later family members located the ATV and the child down a steep embankment. The child was not breathing and was transported by private vehicle to a location where they met with medical personnel. The child was pronounced deceased on scene.

The investigation is ongoing by the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office and the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office. No further information is available at this time. The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the Arizona Department of Public Safety and the U.S. Forest Service for their assistance.

The Sheriff’s Office would like to remind the public to wear recommended safety equipment and follow all applicable state and federal laws regarding the safe use of ATVs while recreating. Please visit the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office website for more information.

Neighborhoods Along Hwy 89 “GO” Order Downgraded to “SET”

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FLAGSTAFF – The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office is pleased to announce that we are lifting the “GO” evacuation order as of 9:00 AM Sunday morning April 24th, 2022, for the residents living in the neighborhoods along Highway 89. The Tunnel Fire Incident Management Team has determined that the status and condition of the fire at this time is no longer an imminent threat to the neighborhoods along Highway 89 and has recommended allowing residents back into their homes.

Residents returning to these neighborhoods will return to a “SET” status. The Incident Management Team and the Sheriff’s Office reminds residents that the conditions and status of the fire could change at any time resulting the return of a “GO” evacuation status. We will continue to closely monitor the situation and will communicate any change in status as soon as possible. This includes the neighborhoods of Timberline, Fernwood, Wupatki Trails, Girls Ranch Road, and Lenox Park. It is important to note that the Coconino National Forest in that area, including the Cinder Lakes OHV Area, will remain closed, due to a temporary closure order from the US Forest Service. The
downgrade from “GO” to “SET” is mainly applicable for the private properties that lie within these areas.

The Sheriff’s Office will begin the re-entry of these residents at 9:00 AM Sunday, April 24, 2022. Evacuated residents are instructed to report in person to the north parking lot of the Silver Saddle Trading Post, located at 9001 N US Highway 89 in Flagstaff, AZ. Residents will be required to show identification or other documents verifying their address before they are allowed entry. Residents are required to check in at this location prior to accessing the neighborhood. Once the check-in process has been completed, residents will be able to access their properties.

Those who do not check in at the re-entry point, you will be turned around at the roadblock at Campbell and Hwy 89 and instructed to return to the Silver Saddle re-ntry point. No one else is allowed to return to the evacuated area but residents during this time, to ensure enough time is allowed to evaluate their properties. Prior to opening Hwy 89 to passing motorists and removing all individual roadway checkpoints, it is vital all residents check in.

The Hwy will remain closed Until 1:00 pm. The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office will continue to patrol the area heavily and enforce closures. All members of the public are reminded to be cautious of the increase in traffic in firefighting apparatus and closure of the
forest along Hwy 89 in and around the fire area.

As residents return, you should be aware of some expected by-products of wildfire, such as smoldering stumps and sinkholes are normal. Should you observe hazardous tree or structure issues, we ask you to contact the appropriate agency on their non–emergency numbers to address these problems. If you observe any emergency issues such as spot fires or immediate threats to yourself or the community,contact 911.

For information related to re-entry, please visit www.coconino.az.gov/Re-Entry-Information

Those impacted by the Tunnel Fire can receive in-person and online support and services through the Coconino County Assistance Center. In-person services are offered at The Guidance Center from 9am – 7pm daily at 2695 E Industrial Dr., Flagstaff/or access via 2187 N Vickey St., Flagstaff, AZ 86004 (look for the sandwich board signs). Online services can be found at coconino.az.gov/help. Please call the Tunnel Fire Call Center with questions at (928) 679-8525 from 7 am to 7 pm. Find ongoing updates related to the Tunnel Fire at coconino.az.gov/TunnelFire

We thank you for your patience during this difficult time.

Tunnel Fire Evacuation Update

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FLAGSTAFF – On Tuesday April 19, 2022 Sheriff Jim Driscoll ordered the “GO” evacuation of several neighborhoods in the Timberline/Fernwood area north of Flagstaff along Highway 89. This was in response to an active and fast-moving wildfire in the Coconino National Forest moving towards those neighborhoods.

As deputies were evacuating the area, the fire quickly moved into the vicinity, ultimately burning several properties, outbuildings, and residences. Deputies have conducted preliminary evaluations of the area and estimate approximately 109 properties were impacted by the fire, including 30 residences that were burned and 24 properties with outbuildings destroyed. At this point, all the owners of the residential structures have been notified of the loss. The fire moved extremely fast through this area due to the extreme weather conditions and high winds.

Since the “GO” order was given on Tuesday, the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office has been re-evaluating the need for the evacuation on a constant and continual in coordination with the Tunnel Fire Incident Management Team. To this point, it has been deemed unsafe to allow residents back into the area due to active fire still in the Timberline neighborhood, open and harmful utilities, active firefighting
efforts around the houses, and the fact that the neighborhoods are still in harm’s way.

This morning, CCSO met with the Tunnel Fire Incident Management Team to assess the need to keep the evacuation in place. Part of this assessment is based on weather forecasts for the next several days. The National Weather Service has forecasted southwest winds of 20-25 miles per hour, gusting to 36 miles per hour tonight, southwest winds of 20-25 miles per hour with gusty and erratic winds of 40-50 miles per hour on Friday, northwest winds on Saturday, and North winds on Sunday.

Due to the forecasted change in wind direction, wind speeds and gusts, the observed fire behavior and the condition of the fire line protecting the neighborhoods, the CCSO is following the recommendations set forth by the Tunnel Fire Incident Management Team and keeping all “GO” evacuations in place for the next 72 hours (until Sunday morning, April 24). There is still a high level of danger in the “GO”
evacuated areas and it is not prudent to open it to residents at this point. Safety of the community and the welfare of those who reside in and visit Coconino County remain the top priority.

Coconino County Sheriff’s office orders evacuations

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FLAGSTAFF – On April 19th, 2022, at 1100 hours the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office began evacuation operations in
the Timberline – Fernwood areas north of Flagstaff along Hwy 89.

The Sheriff’s Office was advised by the United States Forest Service at approximately 8:00 am that the Tunnel Fire had jumped the fire line and was threatening the Timberline – Fernwood Area. The Sheriff’s Office began preparation in anticipation of a “GO” order from the Forest Service.

At approximately 11:00 am a “GO “order was given, and evacuations began. Over 200 hundred homes are threatened at this time. Closure areas are East side of 89 is Campbell rd. to Sunset Crater, West side of the 89 is Summit Fire Station #33 to Sunset Crater.

A shelter is set up at Sinagua Middle School for those effected by the evacuations. The Coconino Humane Society is available for evacuated large and small animals.

We will update as information is made available.

If you are unsure about an evacuation notice or feel it maybe a scam, please contact your local law enforcement agency to confirm the location of any Evacuation stage or Set stage areas, please call the non-emergency numbers for the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office (928) 774-4523 and Flagstaff Police Department (928) 774-4114 and report any suspicious calls.

If you receive what you believe to be a fraudulent call to evacuate or any other suspicious call, it is important to provide as much information as possible when reporting this activity. This includes not only phone numbers from which calls are received but also names (even if names appear to be fake), email addresses, web domains, times/dates of contacts, etc.

The Coconino County Detention Facility Updated Court Commitment Schedule

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Flagstaff — The Coconino County Detention Facility started allowing individuals convicted and sentenced to serve jail time in Coconino County to self-surrender on April 4th. The Detention Facility had suspended the acceptance of court commitments when the COVID-19 Pandemic began as one way to keep the jail population down and keeping non-violent offenders out of jail to help mitigate the COVID-19 Virus from entering and spreading through the facility. Most jails in the state also implemented similar suspensions for the same reasons.

The acceptance of individuals to serve the obligated court commitment will continue to happen on a scheduled basis but we are lifting the daily cap of only 5-Court Commits.

The schedule will continue be done alphabetically by the first letter of the individual’s last name. Based on last name, individuals will have a seven-day period each month to be able to self-surrender to serve the imposed jail sentence. This schedule will remain until further notice and can be modified by the Sheriff’s Office if needed. Both the Flagstaff Detention Facility and the Page Temporary Holding Facility will follow the updated schedule which is listed at the end of this media release.

All other restrictions and suspensions will remain in place. Those continued restrictions and suspensions can be found in our multiple media releases that have gone out and are available on our Sheriff’s Office website and Facebook page.

The Sheriff’s Office will continue to stay up to date on the best practices and current available information and will adjust procedures as is necessary and appropriate.

Updated Self-Surrender Court Commit Schedule by last name.

A-H

OCTOBER 10, 2021 – OCTOBER 16, 2021
OCTOBER 31, 2021 – NOVEMBER 6, 2021
NOVEMBER 21, 2021 – NOVEMBER 27, 2021
DECEMBER 12, 2021 – DECEMBER 18, 2021
JANUARY 2, 2022 – JANUARY 8, 2022
JANUARY 23, 2022 – JANUARY 29, 2022
FEBRUARY 13, 2022 – FEBRUARY 19, 2022
MARCH 6, 2022 – MARCH 12, 2022

I-P

SEPTEMBER 26, 2021 – OCTOBER 2, 2021
OCTOBER 17, 2021 – OCTOBER 23, 2021
NOVEMBER 7, 2021 – NOVEMBER 13, 2021
NOVEMBER 28, 2021 – DECEMBER 4, 2021
DECEMBER 19, 2021 – DECEMBER 25, 2021
JANUARY 9, 2022 – JANUARY 15, 2022
JANUARY 30, 2022 – FEBRUARY 5, 2022
FEBRUARY 20, 2022 – FEBRUARY 26, 2022
MARCH 13, 2022 – MARCH 19, 2022

Q-Z

OCTOBER 3, 2021 – OCTOBER 9, 2021
OCTOBER 24, 2021 – OCTOBER 30, 2021
NOVEMBER 14, 2021 – NOVEMBER 20, 2021
DECEMBER 5, 2021 – DECEMBER 11, 2021
DECEMBER 26, 2021 – JANUARY 1, 2022
JANUARY 16, 2022 – JANUARY 22, 2022
FEBRUARY 6, 2022 – FEBRUARY 12, 2022
FEBRUARY 27, 2022 – MARCH 5, 2022
MARCH 20, 2022 – MARCH 26, 2022

Woman drowned in flash flood

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PAGE – On Saturday, July 31st at 6:00 pm the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office and National Park Service (NPS) responded to Labyrinth Canyon on Lake Powell after receiving information of a possible flash flood drowning. Deputies responding to the Labyrinth Canyon area were advised that a female hiking with her family had drowned as a result of flooding in the popular slot canyon.
The Victim, Heather S. Rutledge a 43-year-old female out of Louisville, Ky was hiking the Labyrinth Canyon with her husband and 3 sons at approximately 2 pm when she and her family were caught in a flash flood that ultimately drowned Mrs. Rutledge. The husband and children were ultimately able to locate Heather and performed CPR but were unsuccessful. Family members unable to move Heather, had to make their way back to the boat they had rented and get help.

Once back at the Rental Boat they discovered it had been damaged by the flash flood and was undrivable. A boater in the area was able to tow the boat out to the mouth of Labyrinth Canyon where contact was made with an NPS Boat. NPS transported the Victims family back to Antelope Point Marina where rescuers were preparing to locate and recover Heather. Due to weather conditions, darkness, and the potential of another flash flood, recovery operations were put off until the next Morning, on Sunday August 1.

On the morning of August 1st, at 6:00 am Coconino County Sheriff’s Deputies along with Rangers from NPS drove by boat, to the area in Labyrinth Canyon that the victim and her family had stopped at. Due to flood debris, rescuers could not use the kayaks to get up the rest of the canyon and had to swim through heavy canyon debris, to locate the deceased. Once located, she was removed back to the boat and transported to Wahweap Marina where the Coconino County Medical Examiner took custody of the victim and transported back to Flagstaff.

Special thanks for the invaluable assistance from the National Parks Service in this matter. Further investigation into this incident is being conducted by the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office and Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office. No further information is available currently.

The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office recommends knowing the forecast in an around the area when you are participating in recreational activities in canyon country. Flash Floods can start many miles up canyon from where you are recreating.

More information can be found at the National Weather Service at https://www.weather.gov/mob/Severe_Flood.

Coconino and Kaibab NFs revoking fire restrictions today

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FLAGSTAFF — Due to monsoonal activity and heavy rainfall across most of the forests, the Coconino and Kaibab National Forests will rescind all fire restrictions as of 6 a.m. Friday, July 16. The Kaibab NF will also lift the Bill Williams Mountain closure.
Fire danger remains high across both forests. Visitors are still asked to remain vigilant and avoid activities that could accidentally cause wildfires – refrain from campfires on dry and windy days and remember that it is always illegal to leave a campfire unattended. In addition, fireworks are never allowed on any National Forest land.
Closures unrelated to fire and smoking restrictions remain in effect including the Raphael Fire around Sycamore Canyon, Mangum Fire on the North Kaibab Ranger District, and areas of the Slate Fire and Backbone Fire.
A full list of what each fire restriction stage means can be found on the Coconino National Forest’s website. Statewide fire restriction information can be found at www.wildlandfire.az.gov/fire-restrictions.

GO Evacuations Ordered for South Garland Prairie

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COCONINO COUNTY – Due to the Rafael Fire and Forest Service mitigation efforts, the community of South Garland Prairie has been upgraded to a GO status. THIS IS AN EVACUATION ORDER. This includes the residences off of Boy Scout Camp Road, Arbor Lane, Thomas Loop Rd., Leisure Drive, Bluebird meadow Road, Dog Haven Place, Tanner Ranch Road, and other roads in that area. Finish gathering necessary items and leave the area immediately.

There is a shelter set up at Sinagua Middle School in Flagstaff. The address is 3950 E. Butler.

Rafael Fire operations will be conducting a backburn of the area north of Sycamore Canyon. This is done so fire crews can remove fuel in this area to create a buffer zone between the active fire and homes in the area. This area is in extreme draught conditions and fire can be unpredictable.

If you need assistance in evacuating, contact the Coconino County Emergency Operations Center at 928-679-8647.
Monitor CCSO and Coconino County social media and official news releases for additional information regarding the evacuation and re-entry.

Arrest made in the death of a man in Forest Lakes

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-CCSO booking photo

FOREST LAKES – On June 19, 2021, Chad Lapointe of Winslow, AZ was arrested for 2nd Degree Homicide in the death of a man following an altercation while camping in Forest Lakes, AZ.

The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office and the Arizona Department of Public Safety responded to a report of an altercation in a camping area in Forest Lakes near the Mogollon Rim Visitor
Center. Upon arrival, the deputy was flagged down by a man and woman in a white truck near the entrance to the camping area. The man and woman were later identified as Chad Lapointe, 27, and
Simone Franklin, 25. They stated they had been camping with another male subject, identified as Simone’s brother, Brandon Franklin, 27.

As a result of the investigation, it was determined an altercation had occurred at the camp site. Through the investigation it was determined Chad and Simone had an altercation with Brandon at the camp site, during which Chad fought with Brandon. Brandon died on scene from injuries
sustained during the altercation.

As a result of the investigation, Chad was taken into custody and transported to the Coconino County Jail in Flagstaff where he was booked on the charge of 2nd Degree Homicide.

We would like to thank the Department of Public Safety for assisting deputies with the initial response. Further investigation into this case in ongoing by the Sheriff’s Office
and Medical Examiner’s Office.

Sheriff’s Office Evacuating Dispersed Camping Due to Rafael Fire

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FLAGSTAFF — The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office is evacuating dispersed camping south of Forest Road 535 from the junction of Forest Road 231 road. The Sheriff’s Office is also evacuating dispersed camping in the Sycamore Canyon area.

Garland Prairie is reminded to be in READY. READY means Prepare Now. Make a family evacuation and communication plan that includes phone numbers, out-of-town contacts and family meeting locations. Build an emergency go kit with enough food, water, and necessary supplies for at least 72 hours.

Check with your neighbors, family, friends, and elders to ensure they are READY too. Register with the Coconino County Emergency Notification system at coconino.az.gov/ready