Overview
- Rescuers located Mark Eric Young on Monday after his son's text placed him about six miles from his rental car, and a Maricopa County helicopter hoisted him to a Phoenix-area hospital.
- The multi-day search drew Yavapai County deputies, volunteer teams, Coconino and Maricopa county units, Arizona’s Department of Public Safety aviation, local ranchers, and Young’s family.
- Crews battled high winds, steep canyons, and confusing echoes that masked faint calls for help, and they also worked around wildlife hazards such as rattlesnakes and large mammals.
- Young said his GPS cut out and he did not know how to use the satellite SOS feature on his phone, so he followed a compass and used basic survival steps like lighting fires at night.
- The family praised named deputies and volunteers in a public statement, and Young pledged to stop solo trips as first responders urged hikers to learn SOS tools and carry simple signal gear like a reflective sun visor.