Yavapai County Search And Rescue Find Lost Hikers By Cellphone

Yavapai County Search and Rescue crews tended to two incidents where cellphones were used to find the victims. The first instance happened Saturday at around 10:45 p.m. where a 16-year-old autistic boy got separated from his hiking partner in the Groom Creek area. He was expected to return, but never showed up. YCSO dispatchers were able to gain GPS coordinates from the teen’s phone and eventually made contact with him by phone. Searchers found him at around 1 a.m. and returned him to his family. Then on Sunday, YCSO received a call from the girlfriend of a 40-year-old man at around 9:45 a.m. who called her to say he was overheated and thirsty on the Red Rock Loop. The man had been dropped off on Friday and he had been hiking since. Deputies reached the man by phone and he refused to stay where he was because he was trying to find water. He called back at 10:30 a.m. saying he was stuck on a mountain and had difficulty moving and had hot and cold sweats. He found a small cave where he rested until the DPS helicopter found him and airlifted him from the area. The man was taken to Verde Valley Medical Center for treatment. Authorities remind hikers to take plenty of food and water and a fully-charged cell phone with you when you hike in the outdoors.