Snowy Sedona Rescue – 2 Different Groups, Totaling 8 Hikers, Rescued Near Devil’s Bridge – YCSO

Photo: YCSO on scene

On Tuesday (1/28) around 5 pm, Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office Forest Patrol and Verde Search and Rescue (SAR) teams responded to lost hikers near the Devil’s Bridge trail.  The person who called said she was with her 4 children on the trail, but one of the adult children had taken off without her phone.  She didn’t know where her daughter was at the time she called.  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 an accurate coordinate of their location.

While volunteers were searching for that family, Dispatch received another 911 call from another group of hikers who were lost.  That new caller believed their group was with another group that was also lost, due to the snow and weather conditions.  After sorting through the details with multiple callers, the deputy was able to determine a total of 8 people that were lost and needed rescue.

Photo: The rescuers and hikers (the hikers have requested to remain anonymous)

Working with dispatch, the deputy was able to get close coordinates of the lost groups so that the Verde SAR teams could hike to their location.  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 had no injuries or exposure issues.  Around 14 volunteers helped in the successful search.

“Once again the YCSO Search and Rescue teams prove 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.” – Sheriff Rhodes