Photo: Garchen Buddhist Institute in Chino Valley
Missing Autistic Boy Found Safe at Granite Basin Lake
On Saturday July 8th, at approximately 5:30 p.m. Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a missing 9-year-old autistic boy who was last seen near the boat ramp on Granite Basin Lake. The boy had been at the lake with his brother and his guardian. The two boys were playing near the boat ramp, when the brother left the boy briefly to speak with the guardian. When he returned, he could not locate his brother.
YCSO Forest Patrol, US Forest Service, a DPS Ranger helicopter from Phoenix and a drone quickly responded, along with available YCSO deputies. Deputies immediately began a search of the area. The Ranger helicopter arrived at 6:30 p.m. and located the missing boy at 7 p.m.
The Ranger helicopter maintained a visual on the boy from the air while search and rescue (SAR) volunteers hiked to the spot. SAR found the boy at 7:15 and had him back to his family by 7:40. The boy was checked medically and found to be just fine for his little over half mile trek away from the boat ramp.
Buddhist Monk Found After Long Walk to Clear Head in Chino Valley
On Saturday evening, a Buddhist Monk from Tibet walked away from the Buddhist Temple on Perkinsville Road in Chino Valley at 6 pm but had not returned by Sunday morning. He lives at the temple with his family and had left behind his cell phone and all other possessions except the clothes he was wearing. The monk’s wife called in an overdue person’s report Sunday morning.
Deputies were told that the monk was familiar with the vicinity around the temple and that he often hikes in the area. YCSO Forest Patrol and Deputies began searching the area on foot after the report was made, and a drone operator was called to do an aerial search.
At 3:15 p.m. YCSO received a call from a woman who said she found an Asian man in the desert near Perkinsville. He was located near the Drake turn off, about 20-25 miles from the Buddhist Temple. The monk doesn’t speak any English, so the woman was unable to speak with him. YCSO drove to the area and confirmed it was the overdue monk and transported him to Chino Valley Police Department where he was checked out by medical professionals. Though his vitals were ok, he was severely dehydrated. The monk’s wife arrived to translate, with the monk saying he just needed to take a very long walk to clear his head. A very long, hot walk indeed.
