Coconino County Sheriff’s Office and
the Coconino County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Unit to
Respond to Eleven Reports of Stranded Hunters
12/09/09
Coconino County Sheriff’s Deputies
and the Coconino County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Unit
are partnering with the Arizona Department of Public Safety Air
Rescue Division, Arizona Game and Fish and the United States
Forest Service to coordinate available resources and personnel
to respond to 11 reports of stranded hunters. The severe
winter storm conditions that portions of Coconino County
endured on Monday and Tuesday have resulted in numerous calls
for service from parties of hunters who are trapped by the
significant snow accumulations. It is believed that these
11 incidents involve more than 33 individuals.
The reports have come in from a variety of
sources to include victims calling on their cell phones, family
members reporting overdue hunters and hunters in the field
reporting sightings of stranded parties. Responses are
being prioritized by the circumstances surrounding each
incident to include: provisions available to the stranded
individuals, their geographic location, the number of
individuals in each party, and the estimated threat level for
each group.
Methods of rescue will include, air lifts
by the DPS Helicopter, ground extractions will be conducted by
rescuers on foot, on snow mobiles, in snow cats and in
conventional four wheel drive vehicles and a vehicle equipped
with a rubber track system. Locations of stranded
individuals include:
Ø Tusayan in the area
of Forest Service Road 310 with an unknown number of people
Ø Tusayan in the area
of Forest Service Road 320 with one person
Ø Tusayan in the area
of Forest Service Road 310A with 10 people
Ø Perkinsville Road in
the area of Forest Service Road 108 with two people
Ø Blue Ridge in the
area of Forest Service Road 149 near the junction of Hwy
260 and 87 with 2 people
Ø Woods Canyon Lake
with two people
Ø Turkey Butte with
three people
Ø Fry Park with two
people
Ø Woody Mountain Road
in the area of the junction of Forest Service Roads 538 and 527
Ø Rogers Lake in the
area of Forest Service Road 527 with two people
Ø Munds Park in the
area of Forest Service Road 700 north of Little Horse Park
unknown number of people
Ø Norris Tank with
numerous people in the area who can’t get out