Hikers in New Mexico, California rescued in separate incidents on same day
One of the rescues occurred at an elevation of 9,100 feet on a New Mexico mountain.
Authorities in New Mexico and Southern California rescued two hikers after one was injured on a mountain and the other went missing for three days.
The separate rescue operations occurred Jan. 22, authorities said. One was near Ladron Peak, a mountain rising 9,186 feet above sea level south of Albuquerque. The second hiker was found in the Jacumba Mountains, east of San Diego.
New Mexico State Police personnel rescue an injured hiker.New Mexico State Police via Facebook
Video from New Mexico State Police showed a hiker lying on her back in a rocky section of mountain at 9,100 feet. The department identified her as a 50-year-old woman who'd become injured and stranded there.
It wasn't clear how she was injured. The department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The department described her injuries as non-life threatening.
The department said rescue personnel were dispatched to the area around 4 p.m. A Socorro County Fire Department paramedic descended from a helicopter and attached a rope to the woman.
Video showed her being hoisted into the aircraft.
In California, an Italian man went for a day hike on Jan. 19 in the Jacumba Mountains, roughly two hours east of San Diego, the local sheriff's office said in a video. The man, who was not identified, did not return to the trailhead he set off from.
After the hiker was reported missing two days later, deputies and search and rescue volunteers went looking for him. He was found the next day near a gorge a few miles from the trailhead, the sheriff's office said.
The man told first responders that he sheltered in train tunnels and stayed hydrated by drinking water at the bottom of the gorge.
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Hiker falls 700 feet to death while taking selfie on a peak in the Superstition Mountains near Phoenix
/ CBS/AP
A hiker camping on a peak in the Superstition Mountains east of metro Phoenix was found dead after apparently slipping while taking a selfie and falling hundreds of feet, authorities said Wednesday. The body of Richard Jacobson, 21, was recovered after a hiking companion called 911 at approximately 12:45 a.m. Monday, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.
Jacobson's body was found nearly 700 feet below where the hikers were camping on top of Flatiron near Lost Dutchman State Park, the office said.
"Mr. Jacobson went to go take a photograph with himself and the city skyline in the background, and he lost his footing, and he slipped, and he fell," Sergeant Doug Peoble with Pinal County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue, told CBS affiliate KPHO-TV.
An Arizona Department of Public Safety helicopter helped recover Jacobson's body, the office said.
Andrew Thomas told KPHO-TV he spent three months as a missionary with Jacobson in 2020. "He really was one of those guys that everyone loved, and it's sad to lose him, but we know that it's not the end," said Thomas. "We're going to see him again."
Thomas told the station he remembers Jacobson as someone who was kind and had a good sense of humor.
"He was just my companion in that sense," said Thomas. "I spent all my waking hours with Richard, so I got to know him pretty well...he was an outdoorsman, hunter, hiker. He did stuff like that, so I guess he did die doing what he loved to do, just in a tragic way."
According to a study in the Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, 259 people died taking selfies from 2011-2017.
San Diego man found dead in Joshua Tree National Park remembered as devoted teacher who loved adventure
A friend of the man who was found dead in Joshua Tree National Park on Monday said Michael Spitz, 35, of San Diego died while free-solo climbing.
Spitz was found dead on Monday after the National Park Service responded to a report of a body at the base of the Sentinel Wall near the Hidden Valley Nature Trail at around 9:50 a.m.
The Riverside County Coroner's office said Spitz was injured about 5:30 p.m. on Sunday and died prior to the discovery of his body.
Albrinck said the coroner's office is leading an interagency investigation into the death but did not say if investigators have determined how Spitz died.
Brian Gillette, a close friend of Spitz's, told The Desert Sun that he went with Spitz's family yesterday to meet with the coroner, who told them that Spitz was free soloing (climbing alone without ropes or harnesses) and died as a result of a fall on Sunday. They said Spitz was found Monday morning "by a couple of hikers."
Gillette added that Spitz was climbing the Illusion Dweller climbing route, which was a favorite of his and one he had climbed many times both with and without a rope.
"It was not something that he was pushing himself on or climbing out of his limit, by any means...," Gillette said. "He was really familiar with it and I'm sure felt supremely confident and was just out having fun and doing what he did all the time. There was nothing that's unusual about it other than that this time he slipped."
'A zest for life'
Spitz is being remembered as a devoted Christian and teacher who loved adventure.
Gillette said Spitz has been his main climbing partner since he met him about eight years ago, although their friendship went well beyond climbing. He said he knew him like a brother and as someone who was "really hungry for life and adventure."
"Mike was determined to squeeze everything he could out of every moment and just lived life with an incredible energy," he said. "He loved everybody, it sort of seemed like anywhere we went he seemed to know everybody climbing and was sort of like instant friends with everyone. I wish more people had a chance to meet him and climb with him."
"He was just one of those guys that was constantly on the move looking for the next adventure," he said.
Spitz, he said, was trying to get the most out of every second "even when he couldn't find a partner to climb with."
The two had just been down in Potrero Chico, Mexico, where he couldn't get him to stop climbing.
"He was determined to climb until the headlamp died," Gillette said. "Most of the time when we went on a climbing trip at like midnight or later, if you were climbing with Mike the headlamps were going to come out for sure."
Spitz particularly loved Baja California in Mexico and had a house down there, Gillette said.
Clarisse Ricci said she first met Spitz while climbing in El Cajon. She and her partner had made a mistake and their rope got stuck while rappelling.
"Mike, who was climbing the route next to us, went out of his way to help us," she said.
She said she and her friends ran into him again on Saturday while climbing Thin Wall in Joshua Tree.
"I didn't know him very well but he seemed like such a nice person," she said.
Spitz worked as a Spanish teacher at Santa Fe Christian Schools in Solana Beach, according to a Facebook post from the school.
"The entire Santa Fe Christian community is deeply grieved to have learned of the sudden loss of our beloved Upper School Spanish teacher Michael Spitz in a rock-climbing accident," the school said.
The school added that Spitz's passion for the lord was "infectious" and "came out in every conversation." That passion, combined with a love for kids, made Santa Fe Christian "a better school."
The school added that Spitz was drawn to the outdoors and travel and was a multi-sport adventure athlete who surfed, climb rocks, backpacked and was even a licensed skydiver. He also loved books and coffee.
Spitz co-founded Vida Outreach in Baja California, Mexico, which aims to share "the hope of Christ" and help families fight the cycle of poverty.
"As much as anyone, he modeled the calm strength and peace that comes from a deep and abiding relationship with Christ," the school said in their statement.
Spitz's Instagram was a monument to his love for rock climbing, in general, and Joshua Tree, in particular. He frequently posted photos of him climbing at the park and other locations, often with captions containing spiritual and philosophical musings. "Stay positive, push your limits and pursue joy," read one. "Flow with the seasons" said another. A third: "Be free."
Comments posted to his most recent Instagram post remembered him as someone who was a great mentor and teacher and someone "who had an absolute zest for life."
The Vida Outreach states that Spitz founded the organization with Becky Pacheco-Spitz "with their desire to continue to serve the communities of Mexico and share with others the experiences that shaped their lives."
It also says that Spitz was born and raised in San Diego and discovered the power of service while on mission trips serving the poor and helping at orphanages in Baja California. That experience led him to be a youth director for a church in San Diego, it said. Spitz had a BA in Spanish with a minor in Philosophy from Cal State Fullerton.
Chase Morgan, a fellow rock climber, said he remembered Spitz from meeting him one day while climbing in Tahquitz Canyon.
"We talked for a bit and then he showed us a better route off the summit," said Morgan. "Nice guy. It's sad to hear he's gone."
Paul Albani-Burgio covers breaking news and the City of Palm Springs. Follow him on Twitter at @albaniburgiop and via email at paul.albani-burgio@desertsun.com.
Jason @BeardedOverland www.beardedadv.blogspot.com
Utah Department of Public Safety prepare to hoist a victim with the help from Washington County Search and Rescue Monday, Jan. 10, 2022. Deputies hike in the last mile to reach a woman stuck in the snow in the Kolob Canyons region of Zion National Park. Washington County Sheriff's Search and Rescue
After about an hour and 40 minutes, rescue crews found the woman, who told officials she had been slipping in and out of consciousness and eating snow to stay hydrated.
"She got to the top of Hop Valley by the arch in Kolob Fingers, and there's 2-3 feet of snow in there," Sgt. Darrell Cashin with the Washington County Sheriff's Search and Rescue, told St. George News.
"I think the deputies said that it was like 15 degrees (Fahrenheit) up there, so it was very cold. She's going through the snow and she gets stuck – physically stuck. She can't move. She can't get out. But she has a SPOT device that she can text with, so she texts out, 'I need help.'"
Monday's incident will be added to the list of hundreds of search and rescue efforts carried out in Zion National Park since 2018, the country's third-most visited park.
In that three year period, crews were called out to 285 rescues, the sixth most of any park in the country.
That's according to records requests filed by the group Outforia, which recently compiled a list of the county's national parks and recreation areas that saw the most search and rescues since 2018.
Here's what they found:
Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona: 785
Yosemite National Park, California: 732
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, California: 503
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho: 371
Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado: 341
Zion National Park, Utah: 285
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Utah: 279
Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming: 224
Olympic National Park, Washington: 204
Arches National Park, Utah: 202
The report comes as parks around the country are seeing record visitation. By Oct. 2021, both Grand Teton and Yellowstone had the most visitors ever in a single year, respectively, according to government data.
There's a strong correlation between park visitation and the number of search and rescues. Of the 10 most visited national parks in 2020, six of them are on Outforia's list — Yellowstone, Zion, Rocky Mountain, Grand Teton, Grand Canyon and Olympic.
Meanwhile, Sequoia and Kings Canyon is a mere five hour drive from Los Angeles, and Utah's Glenn Canyon National Recreation Area is home to Lake Powell, a tourist and boating hotspot.
With 1,868 incidents, California is at the top of the list of states with the most search and rescues, followed by Arizona at 1,643.
Utah is third with 1,043 search and rescues carried out across the state's "Mighty Five" national parks and other recreation areas.
Not all search and rescue attempts are successful, and sometimes the incident is closed — or considered resolved — despite the missing person not being found. Six of the 202 incidents at Arches National Park during the last three years were closed before the person was rescued, the highest of any park on the list.
And sometimes the case can go on for months, even years, before the search and rescue incident is deemed closed. According to Outforia, "there may not be a missing person involved but an incident being investigated, leading to numerous cases remaining open."
At 101, Mount Rainier National Park had the highest number of open search and rescues since 2018 by a long shot. The park had only 146 incidents during that time frame, and open search and rescues account for 69% of the park's cases.
North Carolina's Blue Ridge Parkway came in second at 28 open incidents, and Rocky Mountain National Park is third at 19.
Utah Department of Public Safety hoists a victim with the help from Washington County Search and Rescue Monday, Jan. 10, 2022. Deputies hike in the last mile to reach a woman stuck in the snow in the Kolob Canyons region of Zion National Park. Washington County Sheriff's Search and Rescue
Jason @BeardedOverland www.beardedadv.blogspot.com
Stranded skiers rescued from Mount Olympus by search and rescue teams
SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah (KUTV) —
Two stranded skiers were rescued from Mount Olympus over the weekend by search and rescue teams. (Photo:{ }Salt Lake County Sheriff's Search and Rescue)
Two stranded skiers were rescued from Mount Olympus over the weekend by search and rescue teams.
Officials said the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Search and Rescue Team was called out at approximately 7:40 p.m. Sunday to the two skiers on the West Slabs.
"The skiers were in good health and spirits, but we're experiencing a few different issues," rescuers noted.
They said the skiers were having some technical issues with their gear and we no longer moving downward because the couloir they were in had frozen due to lack of sunlight and dropping temperatures.
Search and rescue teams said they brought food, warmth, rope gear and technical snow equipment to assist themselves and the skiers.
Everyone was off the mountain by 1 a.m.
Officials made two notes following the rescue that they shared on social media Monday:
Trail conditions change drastically between day and night during these winter months. Areas that may seem passible during daylight hours can become treacherous once the sun goes down and the temperature in the alpine drops.
When in doubt, call for help. Remember, our direct line is 911. Asking for help is always the right answer.
Jason @BeardedOverland www.beardedadv.blogspot.com
Britney Pulley was last spotted hiking north on the Appalachian Trail on Dec. 24, 2021, from McCormick Gap. (Shenandoah National Park)
AUGUSTA COUNTY, Va. – On Wednesday afternoon, Shenandoah National Park announced that a Park Ranger found Brittany Pulley and she is safe.
Authorities are asking for help finding an Appalachian Trail hiker last seen more than a week ago on Christmas Eve.
Britney Pulley was last spotted hiking north from McCormick Gap, which is about 2.5 miles north of the southernmost entrance to Shenandoah National Park off of Interstate 64.
Pulley is 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighs about 130 pounds.
She may be wearing a black coat, a navy beanie and black gloves, according to the National Park Service.
Authorities also believe that she may have a blue/gray Ozark Trail 1-person tent, a green Teton 65L backpack and a WACOOL hydration pack. (See images of those below)
Items that Britney Pulley may have with her. (Shenandoah National Park)
Anyone with information about her disappearance is asked to call Shenandoah National Park at 540-999-3422 or send the park an email at SHEN_Communications@nps.gov.
Jason @BeardedOverland www.beardedadv.blogspot.com
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