Overview
- Phoenix Fire Department technical rescue teams responded to reports of a hiker in distress around 8–8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, July 29, and airlifted Glen Keane from the summit of Mummy Mountain.
- Keane, 72, had started an early morning family hike at about 6 a.m. and told reporters he became dizzy and spent all his energy reaching the summit before realizing he could not safely descend.
- Crews established a steep‑angle hoist operation, lifted Keane by helicopter to a landing zone, and paramedics evaluated him on scene; he declined transport to a hospital and no rescuers were injured.
- Phoenix Fire Capt. Todd Keller used the rescue to warn that Arizona temperatures can climb quickly on trails and urged hikers to reassess plans when heat warnings are in effect because doing otherwise endangers both hikers and first responders.
- The rescue drew wide attention because Keane is a noted Disney animator and 2018 Oscar winner, the department posted video of the extraction, and Keane thanked the crew for their work after the incident.