Two for the SAR Dogs: A Night Search on the San Francisco Peaks

Two very dehydrated hikers were lost with no lights and no other gear and separated from each other. One of them had a cellphone and, luckily, a signal. He finally decided to call for help after hiking ahead of his friend, who could go no further.

They'd come up from the Verde Valley to hike to the summit of Humphreys beginning at 3 p.m., but unbeknownst to them, they were not actually on the Humphreys Trail. Instead, they'd hiked down the Kachina Trail, away from Humphreys. At some point, they decided to go off-trail anyway and up toward a different summit. Eventually, the two turned back when their energy supplies and daylight started to fade quickly.

At about 9:30 p.m., I heard SAR activity on the online scanner, so I knew the call-out was coming. At around 10:00, it did, and I and five other volunteers, including one K9 handler with two search dogs, responded. In three pairs of two, myself with the handler and the two youngest of her four air-scenting golden retrievers, split up per our assignments and headed to our starting locations.

Cindy and I began hiking with the dogs from the trailhead at Snowbowl. Another pair of searchers drove down Schultz Pass Rd., then headed up the Weatherford Trail to intersect with the Kachina Trail from the other end, and our third pair of searchers drove down Friedline Prairie Road to that trailhead, to hike up and intersect the Kachina Trail at another location. So, we were searching from both ends and in the middle. I had a feeling, based on the information our coordinator was given by the one hiker on the phone, that Cindy and I were closest to the subjects' locations.

And that turned out to be the case. About three-quarters of a mile in, the dogs alerted, and we soon had voice contact with the first subject. We found him sitting in the middle of the trail in the dark. After thanking us for coming out, the first thing on his mind was water. He ended up drinking four liters before I eventually hiked him back to the trailhead. Other than being very dehydrated and hungry with a resulting headache, and a bit chilly (so I lent him one of my jackets), he was in good condition and denied needing medical attention. I stayed with him while Cindy and the dogs continued up the trail to try to locate the second hiker.

The young man I was with told me that, for a while, he'd practically carried his friend, who was in worse shape. Finally, the friend had said he had to stop and lay down, while the first guy kept going. At some point, he too had stopped, but the two remained in distant voice contact. That is, until the weaker of the two either fell asleep or passed out for a time. When he awoke, he later said, there was no answer from his friend. That's because his friend (the one I was with) had decided to try to keep going with the light from his phone. He'd made progress for about another 45 minutes before he again had to stop. I believe it was then that he'd called 9-1-1.

DPS helicopters were not available to assist with the search, but a Guardian medical helicopter was able to come out. They didn't locate either hiker with their night vision equipment, but they did help in relaying communications for us once Cindy lost radio contact with me and with our coordinator back at the Snowbowl trailhead.

About a mile or so past where we'd found the first subject, the dogs again alerted, this time heading off trail, up-slope into a gully. In the distance, Cindy heard the jingling of the bells on the dogs' collars increase in speed, meaning they were running. Then she heard a bark, as one of her dogs will often do when alerting at night. Then the dogs returned to her, gave their other alerts—jumped on her—and took off back into the gully as Cindy followed. Soon, as the dogs ran back and forth between the human they'd found and their handler, Cindy made voice contact with the second subject.

Thankfully, after he too was hydrated, the second hiker was able to walk out with Cindy and eventually met me, his friend, and our coordinator back at the trailhead. After all the obligatory information was gathered, some preparedness information given to the two subjects, and the second young man declined medical attention, we all went on our way. I was home at 3a.m.

Thank you to those super SAR dogs for making our job that night easier and faster. Had the second hiker been unresponsive, finding him without the dogs would have been a much longer, more difficult task.

Cindy and her search dogs on another mission.

Searching Under the Desert Sun

I was still searching, looking left and right and sometimes behind me because you can miss things on the backsides of boulders and other terrain features, but I also kept glancing ahead at that enticing little slice of shade in the distance, beneath the large rock overhang. I would head to that slice of shade and stop there for a good rest with the two men searching on either side of me. We all needed it.

I was feeling cooked—broiled, baked, sauteed, and steamed. The air temperature was at least 100 degrees, but the sun reflecting off the sand and rock made it feel even hotter, right through the soles of my boots. I wasn't sunburned, though; the sunblock I'd already reapplied twice was doing its job.

My water and blue Gatorade was hot, and I was now doing more of a shuffle than a walk. Walking in sand in that heat sure saps your energy.

So, have I mentioned it was hot? 🌞

Two members of Yavapai County SAR and I grid search in the desert.

We'd started searching our rather large segment a few hours earlier. We had plotted the UTM coordinates for the four corners of the assigned area then entered them into our GPSes, which were set up to record our tracks. Those tracks would later be downloaded by our coordinator onto his mapping software.

We drove up the highway to the southeast corner of our segment, spread out, and began an east-west grid search, walking about a mile with each pass. The canyon on the western edge of our segment required additional effort to search each time we came to that end. We could see fresh ATV tracks in the sand at the bottom of that canyon, which had been searched from below the day before.

This was the second day of SAR's involvement in the search, with two counties now participating, divided into several field teams. We'd met up at 4 a.m. to drive to the search area and get an early start because of the high desert temperatures. The sun was intense by 8:00. The K9 teams put special vests on their dogs that were soaked with water, and human searchers exchanged some gear for extra water bottles in their packs.

(In case you didn't know, it was hot!)

Shortly before I reached that coveted slice of shade, I overhead the K9 teams on the radio. They'd completed their assignment, and the dogs were spent. Incident Command offered rides back in the Polaris (UTV) for canines and handlers, and they readily accepted.

My search partners, both from Yavapai County, angled in toward my location, and the three of us dropped our packs in unison and ourselves into the shade. We'd completed about half our segment by 11 a.m. Another team reported that they too were taking a shade break before continuing to grid search their segment. We heard the lucky team on the river over the radio, doing their searching by boat and with a spotting scope. (But they deserved that assignment; both had been out here on foot and on ATVs the day before.)

After about 20 minutes of rest, my partners and I resumed our grid pattern, staying alert for the sound of rattling that could come from beneath any bit of brush or shaded bit of ground beneath a rock at any moment. We'd been told to watch out for rattlesnakes and scorpions, but no one reported encountering either one. I'm quite sure they were watching us, though.

There were all sorts of nooks and crannies where rattlesnakes could be hanging out.

Later that day, field teams converged back at base. The subject was (and as far as I know at this time, still is) missing. I can't give any details of the mission, I'm afraid, since it's an ongoing investigation, but I can point you to the brief missing person's report with the young man's photo: Police Search for Missing Page Man.

The search continued the following day, with members of our team's mounted unit responding.

And in other recent Coconino County SAR news...

Last week, I reported about the search in Grand Canyon for the overdue backpacker who'd begun his hike on the North Rim. I'm happy to say that the missing man was found on June 17th, tired and unable to each much but otherwise in good condition and good spirits.

Coco. SAR also recently responded to a call for the carry-out of a hiker who'd fractured her ankle near the saddle on the Humphreys Trail. Four search and rescue volunteers went up to Snowbowl (ski area), where a fire engine and an ambulance were already there. Two firemen and three personnel from Guardian had been deployed via a Snowbowl UTV up one of the ski runs to the base of a steep route that eventually connects with the Humphreys Trail at 11,400 feet. (We use this route as a shortcut when subjects are located near or beyond that elevation.)

Coconino County SAR drove our team's own UTV to the bottom of the route and then proceeded on foot. By that time, the firemen and medics were already with the subject. SAR made good time, and when they rendezvoused with the others, they tied the patient into the Stokes litter and carried her up the trail a ways until they found a relatively clear area to descend. They attached a 300-foot rope to the litter and slowly lowered the patient. It took four evolutions to get her down to the Polaris Ranger. She and two Guardian medics rode the UTV to the ambulance, while the rest walked down.

There was also a call-out to search for an overdue hiker in the Blue Ridge area, but SAR was turned around at Lake Mary when the subject turned up.

And last night at 7:45, while I was at a dinner party, there was another call-out for a litter carry near the saddle on the Humphreys Trail, for another patient with a fractured ankle.

Search for Overdue Backpacker on the North Rim, Grand Canyon

On Thursday, members of our Coconino County Search and Rescue team headed out to help the National Park Service with a search in the area of Sowats Point and Jumpup on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Volunteers were told they needed to be prepared to be self-sufficient for 48 hours.

I don't know a lot about the search at this time, except that the 64-year-old solo hiker was on a strenuous multi-day trip including the Bill Hall Trail and was due out of the canyon on Monday. After the Park Service was notified, presumably by family, that the hiker was overdue, they conducted some of their own investigation and searching before contacting Coconino SAR for assistance on Wednesday afternoon. I'm told that high winds have hampered aircraft searches in the area.

If the search continues beyond Saturday, I expect more requests for Coconino SAR's assistance. My backpack is always ready, just in case.

******

In other Coco SAR news...

On June 8th, the team was called out to help with evacuations and road blocks associated with a wildfire in the Turkey Hills area east of Flagstaff. This turned out to be an intentionally set fire—make that fires because there were 14 of them (!) along a gas pipeline—which forced the evacuation of approximately 50 area residents and burned an unoccupied mobile home. Thankfully, no one was hurt, and the fire was quickly contained by several ground crews and air tankers.

As the firefighting efforts were underway, a woman approached one of our team members at a road block. Visibly upset, she spoke to the SAR volunteer for several minutes, then admitted she was concerned that a family member had started the fires. Information was taken from the individual, and then SAR contacted the Sheriff's Office.

In the early hours of June 9th, 20-year-old Obrian Wilson Kee was arrested and eventually admitted to starting the fires because he was upset with his girlfriend. See: Arrest Made in Hill Fire from the Arizona Daily Sun.

SAR also recently responded to three calls for lost or overdue hikers on the same day. All were quickly located and in good condition.

We have a feeling this is going to continue to be a busy summer for Coconino County Search and Rescue, in part because Arizona's White Mountains have been torched by the Wallow Fire, likely bringing even more people to the northern part of the state for outdoor recreation. 

SAR Called to Assist with the Wallow Fire (and Some P-SAR Too)

It's now the second largest wildfire in Arizona history, having burned more than 486 square miles as of Tuesday (so more by now) and still moving 5 to 8 miles per day. That's almost as big as the city of Phoenix! 2,500 firefighters from several western states and some as far away as New York are working to contain the blaze, which is burning in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest near Springerville, Arizona. "The blaze has consumed 311,481 acres since it started May 29. It has been propelled by wind gusts of more than 60 mph." (Arizona Daily Sun)

Yesterday, our search and rescue team received a call to respond for an extended mission from Thursday through the weekend, to assist with road blocks and perhaps other assignments in connection with the Wallow Fire. Our coordinator said we'll probably be asked to do the same multiple times over the next few weeks.

See:  Northern Arizona Fire Personnel Help Fight Wallow Fire, Others to find out who else is responding from Coconino County.

******

In other team news...

Last Saturday, several of us set up a booth at the Outdoor Festival at Mormon Lake, co-hosted by the Arizona Game and Fish Department and Mormon Lake Lodge. The day was filled with activities, including archery, fishing, and horseback rides, and there were information booths from a variety of exhibitors and live animals from the Game and Fish Department's Adobe Mountain Wildlife Center.

The theme of our SAR booth was the ten essentials of hiking, with the ten essential categories being navigation, illumination, insulation, nutrition, hydration, shelter (which, in our case, was as simple as a rain poncho or a survival blanket with grommets so it could be used as a tarp), tools and repair, sun protection, first aid, and (although it feels strange to say so right now, given the first part of this post) fire-starting.

Coconino County SAR members teach children and adults about the ten essentials.

We gave out P-SAR cards ("P" being for preventative), which list the 10 essentials and other hiking and preparedness tips. We also had examples of those essential items. On the one hand, we had a large Zip-loc baggie with a condensed version of these essentials, which would be an appealing size and weight for a lot of people, adults and children, who go for recreational day-hikes. We also had a few of our search and rescue packs for more extensive examples of 10-essential gear, which would be appropriate for longer hikes and more extreme weather.

A lot of children visited our booth, and they seemed to really enjoy going through the list on the P-SAR cards, reading off each item and then searching for it in the baggie. Some wanted to see if they could lift my backpack. And some also got a little quiz. We ask, "If you got lost, what would you do?" and heard a lot of really good answers about ways to signal for help. Many eventually got around to the main answer we were looking for: sit down and stay put. Or "hug a tree" as we like say. We also asked the kids what they can do to prevent getting lost in the first place. (Parents seemed happy to hear that question.)

So, it was a good day for SAR community education. We were invited to return to the festival next year.

A Body Recovery at Midgley Bridge

Midgley Bridge - Credit Flickr CC

I know it might sound cold: "body recovery." After all, just a short time before we arrived at the scene, that body had been a living, breathing man—an 80-year-old man who, for some reason we weren't aware of, had made the decision to end his life. At about 8:30 a.m. on Friday, June 3, a woman reported that she'd just received a call from her husband, who was about to jump from the bridge. Soon after deputies arrived, that man, who had already climbed over the railing, let go.

Our team has been to Midgley Bridge in Sedona's Oak Creek Canyon before, for the same type of mission. In fact, when the call is for Midgley Bridge, it's usually preceded or followed by the words "body recovery." Certainly not an easy thing to do in any sense of the word. But speaking for myself, dealing with that grim task is made easier by the fact that I'm doing it with my teammates, who understand the range of emotions that goes along with the physical effort.

Following such missions, which all of those volunteers present had been through before, critical incident management (basically, counseling) was offered to us, either immediately or at any time after that.

While I have to admit that I'm okay with what I did and saw, I can't help but wonder about that man and why, after 80 years of life, he chose to leave it in the way that he did. I can't imagine the feeling of helplessness, sorrow, pain, or perhaps something else that would drive someone to that. I hope he'll rest in peace.