LOST ATV RIDERS: NEAR SECRET PASS CANYON, WEST SIDE OF THE BLACK MOUNTAINS
On Sunday afternoon (10/9), the Mohave County Sheriff's Office received several phone calls from parties related to three ATV riders (a 57-year-old male, a 51-year-old male and a 50-year-old male) who were just not home yet. They had been traveling through Secret Pass Canyon from Golden Valley and heading towards the Bullhead City side of the Black Mountains. They had indicated at one point the trail had a waterfall on it and they were trying to figure out how to get past it in their quads. Eventually, they made it to the Bullhead side of the Black Mountains, but somehow became lost. They could see the casinos on the other side of the Colorado River, but had no idea how to get to a roadway. They had left an established and marked trail that would have led them to Silver Creek Road and chose to drive several miles down a trail past a sign that clearly indicated it was a "Dead End" and managed to get cliffed out by surrounding canyons and washes. They were out of water, food and had no other supplies with them and called 911 for help. Search and Rescue responded and began a route and location search. After determining they had left the marked trail, search teams made their way to them – located just below Secret Pass Canyon, near the Narrows. While they were rehydrated, they were physically unable to drive their quads back to the Command Post. At that point, the quads were left behind and they were transported back to the Command Post, where they were reunited with their family. They were encouraged to reach out to a local four-wheeling group for assistance to remove their quads from the remote desert area.
But wait, there's more! The next day (Monday – 10/10), instead of reaching out for help to attempt to locate and recover their quads, four males went back out by themselves in a Dodge Dakota truck. They managed to shred two tires and become lost again. One male managed to walk out to the Maverick gas station on the Bullhead Parkway, two males walked back out to Silver Creek Road and one remained with the truck. None of them knew where the truck was actually located, but the male remaining with the truck called 911 about 7pm that evening. The location that came with the 911 call had a 6,000 meter accuracy, which is poor and equates to just under a 4 mile radius from where he called – which becomes looking for a needle in a haystack from the ground in the dark. The DPS Western Air Rescue helicopter from Kingman located the stranded truck, landed and brought the male back to the Command Post – where he was reunited with his family.
While recreating in the remote desert wilderness areas of Mohave County, Search and Rescue wants to remind everyone to plan ahead and be prepared for their adventures. Bring plenty of water and other supplies. When traveling, have multiple vehicles for when one of them breaks down so there are other options available. If you are attempting to navigate to a location, bring a map and know how to use the tools you have to get you there. It is often misunderstood that when recreating, cell phones will have cell service all the time and apps (such as Google Earth) will continue to work when there is no cell service. Be safe out there!
Jason @BeardedOverland www.beardedadv.blogspot.com
