By Jon Johnson
RED KNOLLS – A collaborative effort between the Graham County Sheriff’s Office, Search and Rescue, and Thatcher Fire Department resulted in the safe return of two teenagers stranded on the slippery clay cliffs of Red Knolls during a recent rain.
The Red Knolls Amphitheater is west of Pima, and, according to the Arizona Geological Survey, its landscape was created by the dissolution of soluble rocks, primarily limestone, by groundwater. It was “formed in the ca. 5 Ma Pliocene 111-Ranch Beds, fluvial-deltaic brown beds punctuated by white limestone and ash fall beds.” It’s Bryce Canyon-like red formations have been well-known since the days of the Spanish Conquistadors.
First responders were dispatched at about 11:35 p.m. on Sunday to Red Knolls, where an 18-year-old male and a 17-year-old female were stranded on a cliff roughly 150 feet in the air. The teens advised that they had scaled the area via a path earlier in the evening before the rain, but the clay in the soil had become slippery due to the precipitation, blocking their return path. Upon arrival, a deputy was shown the path the teens took, and he shortly returned after finding it too slippery to continue.
Instead, the deputy assisted in keeping the area well-lit for the Search and Rescue Team, who were called to the scene along with the Thatcher Fire Department and its ladder truck. Despite the inclement conditions, the ladder truck responded, but the ladder wasn’t able to reach the subjects, according to Thatcher Fire Chief Steve Curtis.
While considering repositioning the ladder truck to reach the subjects, the Graham County Search and Rescue was able to tie off a rope above the subjects, and they used it to help guide the subjects off the slippery terrain. Thatcher Fire continued to provide additional lighting during the rescue and support.
After their descent, the teens were reunited with family members and left the scene.
