YCSO VOLUNTEER SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAMS COME THROUGH TWICE IN A WEEK!

Published on January 31, 2025

On January 28th around 5pm, Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office Forest Patrol and Verde Search and Rescue (SAR) teams responded to the report of lost hikers near the Devil's Bridge trail in the inclement weather.

The person who called said she was with her four children on the trail, but one of the adult children had taken off without her phone and she didn't know where her daughter was at the time. The snow moved in and covered the trail, and they were unable to find the appropriate path to get back to their vehicle. The adult daughter was able to make it back to the trailhead to meet the SAR teams but could not contact the rest of her family. At that time, it was difficult to get accurate coordinates of their location.

While volunteers were searching for that family, dispatch received a second 911 call from another group of hikers who were lost. That new caller believed their group was now with the first group that was lost in the poor weather conditions. After sorting through the details with multiple callers, the deputy was able to determine a total of eight people that were lost and needed rescue. Working with dispatch, the deputy was able to get closer coordinates of the lost groups so that the Verde SAR teams could hike to their location.

Fortunately, all of the lost hikers stayed in one spot until the rescue teams arrived. The volunteers were able to get everyone safely back to the trailhead by 8 pm. The hikers were cold and wet but thankfully had no injuries or exposure issues.

Then, four days later, a hiker was stranded on Thunder Mountain in the Verde after dark. He got stuck on a ledge after leaving the trail in the impending darkness and attempting to find another way down. Eventually, YCSO SAR, Forest Patrol, and a DPS Ranger helicopter combined to accomplish the difficult rescue, and the hiker avoided spending the night on the ledge. He was said to be in good condition after being hoisted out.

All of the volunteers who helped in the successful SAR operations were commended by Sheriff David Rhodes, who said, "Once again the YCSO Search and Rescue teams proved how incredibly important they are to the community. YCSO sends a huge thank you to all of the volunteers who are called out in every rescue situation."  

If you are interested in serving as a YCSO SAR volunteer, contact us at (928) 777-7265 or (928) 771-3260.