I'm supposed to be at work right now, and I guess that's bothering me a little. I haven't been late or missed a day in the five years I've been at my current job. But this first time, I think it's warranted and that my boss will understand. We've been searching for a lost 15-year-old boy for the last 10 hours, since late last night.
It was so dark with no moonlight at all. When I turned off my headlamp, I couldn't see my hand just inches from my face. As three of us searched, calling for Blaine and blowing our whistles along the Mormon Mountain Trail, I thought about how scared I'd be, even as an adult, being lost out there alone all night long. And it got pretty chilly just before dawn. The boy, we're told, was wearing desert camouflage and carrying no extra clothing.
Blaine came up from Phoenix with his uncle to do some archery deer hunting in the Mormon Lake area. His uncle dropped him off at the gate near the top of Mormon Mountain at 2:00 yesterday afternoon, with an arranged rendezvous time at that same location. But Blaine didn't make it back. At 7:30 p.m., he made a cellphone call to his uncle, saying his GPS had run out of battery and he'd gotten lost. The reception was poor, and the conversation was short.
The uncle told us he'd fired off 30 rounds to try to help the boy navigate to his location. No further cellphone contact was made, and it appears Blaine's phone may have since gone dead — our calls keep going right to voice mail.
Blaine's uncle had a spotlight, which he pointed straight up, hoping to provide a beacon once it got dark. But even if Blaine could and did see the light, he had no light source himself, so navigating this rocky, thickly forested terrain would have been just about impossible. If he did try to move, injury would be a likely scenario, so hopefully the boy stayed put at least until first light.
The deputy in charge of this search in Sergeant D's absence told us Blaine's last cellphone call had bounced off a tower near I-17. That gave us some indication of what side of the mountain Blaine would have been on at the time of that call. So we took that into consideration when coming up with a game plan.
Given that only three of us SAR members were able to respond last night, we had to search on foot as a single team while Blaine's family and the deputy drove the perimeter roads throughout the night.
After we cleared the area along the Mormon Mountain Trail, finding no footprints and not establishing voice contact despite all the noise we made, which seemed to carry far in the stillness, a deputy picked us up and drove us back to the top of the mountain.
So, what now?
We decided that a little rest was in order, and we'd wait until dawn to continue our search. At that time, another call-out would be made to hopefully get some additional help and cover more area. So, Bob, Joe, and I climbed into SAR vehicles, made ourselves as comfortable as possible, and got some spotty shut-eye for about an hour. As soon as we could see without headlamps, we resumed searching.
We've just finished bushwhacking around the mountaintop, shouting down slope and searching for clues. Everyone is getting progressively more worried. Is the boy injured and unresponsive? Could he have crossed over the perimeter road and kept going? If so, he might be pretty far away after walking since 2 p.m. yesterday. Could someone have picked him up along the road?
We're glad that Flagstaff Ranger, the DPS helicopter, has now arrived, flying a grid pattern over the mountain. And we're told six additional SAR members are on their way with Sergeant D, as well as several deputies who'll assist. We've asked them to bring ATVs too. There are many two-tracks in the area that aren't even on the maps.
In the meantime, the three of us who are on our second—or third—wind will drive some other Forest Service roads. We're now heading down the road from the top of the mountain, and we see one of the family's vans coming up. They stop, and we roll down our windows to talk to the uncle, who's gotten out and is walking our way. He still doesn't look particularly alarmed. Like last night, he seems almost nonchalant, confident that his nephew will turn up.
He walks over to our driver's side window.
"We haven't found anything yet," Bob tells the uncle. "But more searchers are on their way."
There's a pause.
"Great," the uncle replies. "Well, actually... we found him."
What? Yay! I'm so relieved.
"Is he okay?" I ask, while Bob fishes for the radio to inform Incident Command.
"Yeah, he's fine."
"Great! Where did you find him? Where was he last night?"
The uncle proceeds to tell us that they found Blaine on this same road, heading down from the top, where he'd seen one of our SAR vehicles but it was unoccupied at the time. So he kept walking toward the place where he and his uncle had camped at the base of the mountain the night before last.
And where was Blaine last night? A little ways off the Mormon Mountain Trail! But... that's where we'd been calling for him.
"Yeah," said the uncle, "he plugged his ears and went to sleep. When he woke up this morning, he heard the siren, but he went back to sleep for a while."
He plugged his ears! Why, that little ... uh, I mean, that brave boy. I'm so glad he's okay.
I check my watch. Well, I can probably be at the office by noon.
These are my stories as a volunteer member of the Sheriff's Search and Rescue team in Coconino County, Arizona. I'll share what it's like to go from a beginner with a lot to learn to an experienced and, hopefully, valuable member of the team, as well as the missions, training, and other activities along the way.
SAR Updates and Clarifications
Last night, our SAR unit held the monthly general meeting, where we discussed this past month's missions and received updated information about a high-profile mission that took place more than two years ago.
So, I wanted to share some of what we learned.
Regarding the flood in Havasu Canyon, there have been some misleading news stories floating around, not the least of which was a local Fox News report I saw yesterday afternoon, stating, "The Grand Canyon will be closed for four weeks following extensive damage caused by flash-flooding. 173 people were airlifted out of the Canyon." No, the Grand Canyon isn't closed; Havasupai is closed to tourists until further notice, but the National Park is open as usual. So if the NPS sees a sudden and dramatic decline in visitation to the Canyon, I guess they have Fox to thank for the solitude (and loss of revenue). And I believe the official number of people evacuated from Havasupai was 406. We counted names while working on the list back at the Sheriff's office on Tuesday.
We were told the Coconino County Sheriff's Office had to set up a call center, in large part due to at least one news outlet that reported a dam had broken at the Grand Canyon, and then they showed a picture of Glen Canyon Dam! People were freaking out, calling to say they had loved ones in the canyon and on the Colorado River. What actually failed was the small, earthen Redlands Dam about 45 miles upstream of Havasupai. That dam failed after days of heavy rain, up to eight inches since Friday, but the flooding in Havasu Canyon was occurring even before the dam breach.
I'm also unsure about my previous statement that two homes may have been lost in the village of Supai. While I did hear that bit of information while at Haulapai Hilltop on Sunday, other reports stated that no structures were lost, so I'll count that as rumor at the moment. Surely, many of the houses in Supai were in disrepair before this past weekend's flooding, so it's possible that even minor flooding in the village, which is higher up than the campground that was wiped out, did just enough additional damage to count some homes as "lost." But not having seen the village myself or received official word on that, I can't be sure.
So, I wanted to share some of what we learned.
Regarding the flood in Havasu Canyon, there have been some misleading news stories floating around, not the least of which was a local Fox News report I saw yesterday afternoon, stating, "The Grand Canyon will be closed for four weeks following extensive damage caused by flash-flooding. 173 people were airlifted out of the Canyon." No, the Grand Canyon isn't closed; Havasupai is closed to tourists until further notice, but the National Park is open as usual. So if the NPS sees a sudden and dramatic decline in visitation to the Canyon, I guess they have Fox to thank for the solitude (and loss of revenue). And I believe the official number of people evacuated from Havasupai was 406. We counted names while working on the list back at the Sheriff's office on Tuesday.
We were told the Coconino County Sheriff's Office had to set up a call center, in large part due to at least one news outlet that reported a dam had broken at the Grand Canyon, and then they showed a picture of Glen Canyon Dam! People were freaking out, calling to say they had loved ones in the canyon and on the Colorado River. What actually failed was the small, earthen Redlands Dam about 45 miles upstream of Havasupai. That dam failed after days of heavy rain, up to eight inches since Friday, but the flooding in Havasu Canyon was occurring even before the dam breach.
I'm also unsure about my previous statement that two homes may have been lost in the village of Supai. While I did hear that bit of information while at Haulapai Hilltop on Sunday, other reports stated that no structures were lost, so I'll count that as rumor at the moment. Surely, many of the houses in Supai were in disrepair before this past weekend's flooding, so it's possible that even minor flooding in the village, which is higher up than the campground that was wiped out, did just enough additional damage to count some homes as "lost." But not having seen the village myself or received official word on that, I can't be sure.
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Some of you may have read my earlier report called "They Call Her Cinder Hill Cindy," the name given to then-unidentified skeletal remains found on Navajo Army Depot grounds in early August, near Bellemont, Arizona. I later updated my blog with the name of the woman once a positive ID was made following our evidence search in the area and subsequent forensic testing.
Last night at our meeting, the lead detective on the case filled in some additional detail. Thirty-three year-old Julie Renee Windhorn's backpack had been found in the early spring of 2007 near Old Munds Highway by some boys looking for salamanders. In the backpack was a passport and a note with suicidal implications. An attorney from Virginia, Julie had been having some emotional and mental health issues before her disappearance, so the note did follow suit. In the backpack was also a vehicle insurance card, but Julie's vehicle has yet to be found.
At this point, the cause of Julie's death is still considered unknown, but evidence points to hypothermia. Julie's remains and her neatly laid-out clothing and ID were found about 15 miles from where her backpack was discovered a year and a half earlier. Our unit may be called out later this year, when the leaves have dropped off the thick underbrush in the area, to do another search for more bones and any other evidence that might turn up. At this point, there's no indication of foul play in this case.
Last night at our meeting, the lead detective on the case filled in some additional detail. Thirty-three year-old Julie Renee Windhorn's backpack had been found in the early spring of 2007 near Old Munds Highway by some boys looking for salamanders. In the backpack was a passport and a note with suicidal implications. An attorney from Virginia, Julie had been having some emotional and mental health issues before her disappearance, so the note did follow suit. In the backpack was also a vehicle insurance card, but Julie's vehicle has yet to be found.
At this point, the cause of Julie's death is still considered unknown, but evidence points to hypothermia. Julie's remains and her neatly laid-out clothing and ID were found about 15 miles from where her backpack was discovered a year and a half earlier. Our unit may be called out later this year, when the leaves have dropped off the thick underbrush in the area, to do another search for more bones and any other evidence that might turn up. At this point, there's no indication of foul play in this case.
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One case that did involve foul play was that of Tamomi Hanamure, a 34-year-old Japanese tourist who was murdered at Havasupai in May, 2006, the same area where the flooding occurred this past weekend. Tamomi was reported missing when a maid at the Supai Lodge discovered that the young woman's personal belongings were still in her room after checkout time and the bed had not been slept in. A search was initiated involving multiple agencies, including Coconino County Search & Rescue.
I was not yet on the team at the time of this mission, but I've heard numerous conversations about it since I joined, as well as a previous update by the FBI after the 19-year-old perpetrator's guilty plea was accepted and sentencing took place. The killer, a Supai resident, tried to be the "hero," telling authorities he'd discovered the body when in fact he'd gotten nervous seeing all the uniformed personnel and bloodhounds closing in on Tamomi's location. He somehow thought the attention would be focused on other people if it was him who led them to the victim.
An FBI dive team later located the knife used in the attack, in the water not far from where Tomomi's body was found. Testing at a crime lab also revealed that the t-shirt worn by the killer contained Tamomi's blood, though it couldn't be seen by the naked eye. This evidence, along with the killer's eventual detailed confession, resulted in four consecutive life sentences with no possibility of parole.
Last night, we saw a slideshow of the search for and discovery of Tamomi Hanamure's body. The detective said it was one of the most emotional cases he'd ever worked on, and I know it had a significant impact on my SAR teammates who participated in the mission. Tamomi was enamored with the United States and the Grand Canyon in particular. She'd been to the canyon two or three times before and this time was going to visit the waterfalls in Havasupai as a 34th birthday gift to herself. The detective told us that Tamomi was an only child and her father's world. I couldn't stop staring at her photo up on the screen, taken shortly before her hike into the canyon.
I was not yet on the team at the time of this mission, but I've heard numerous conversations about it since I joined, as well as a previous update by the FBI after the 19-year-old perpetrator's guilty plea was accepted and sentencing took place. The killer, a Supai resident, tried to be the "hero," telling authorities he'd discovered the body when in fact he'd gotten nervous seeing all the uniformed personnel and bloodhounds closing in on Tamomi's location. He somehow thought the attention would be focused on other people if it was him who led them to the victim.
An FBI dive team later located the knife used in the attack, in the water not far from where Tomomi's body was found. Testing at a crime lab also revealed that the t-shirt worn by the killer contained Tamomi's blood, though it couldn't be seen by the naked eye. This evidence, along with the killer's eventual detailed confession, resulted in four consecutive life sentences with no possibility of parole.
Last night, we saw a slideshow of the search for and discovery of Tamomi Hanamure's body. The detective said it was one of the most emotional cases he'd ever worked on, and I know it had a significant impact on my SAR teammates who participated in the mission. Tamomi was enamored with the United States and the Grand Canyon in particular. She'd been to the canyon two or three times before and this time was going to visit the waterfalls in Havasupai as a 34th birthday gift to herself. The detective told us that Tamomi was an only child and her father's world. I couldn't stop staring at her photo up on the screen, taken shortly before her hike into the canyon.
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Well, I do hope the next couple of days at least will be quiet ones when it comes to searching and rescuing. I absolutely love being part of the team and the volunteer work we do, but it sure seems like it's been nonstop lately following a relatively quiet July. Somehow, though, I sense that my trusty little pager is juuuust about to sing.
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