Contributed Photo By Andrew Larson: The river-going group shows off their catch. A DPS helicopter located a kayaker who became separated from his group but he was in good spirits and did not require rescuing.
By Jon Johnson
GILA BOX – A kayaker who became separated from his group while floating the Gila River from 3-Way to Bonita Creek on Friday, May 10, was located along the river shortly before midnight after being missing for roughly 12 hours; However, the kayaker was in good health and spirits and did not wish to be rescued and remained overnight to meet up with family in the morning.
Graham County Dispatch initially received texts from family members who had been floating with the missing kayaker. The texts began at about 8 p.m. and came via 911 communication since there was no cell phone service in the area where the reporting party was.
Through the 911 text notifications, Dispatch was informed that the missing kayaker was a 29-year-old male visiting from Texas who was an experienced outdoorsman and was adequately supplied. The kayaking group included two brothers, a father, an uncle, and a cousin. The reporting party advised they were fine and did not need to be rescued themselves but had to stop and camp for the night due to darkness. They advised the missing kayaker from their group hadn’t been seen at that point for the last 10 hours or so. They said they got in the water in the 3-Way area at about 8 a.m. on Friday and last saw the missing kayaker at about 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. The group had planned to stay until Sunday and leave from Bonita Creek.
After receiving notice of the missing kayaker, Graham County Search and Rescue mobilized and set up a command post at the Gila Box. According to a Graham County Sheriff’s Office report, an Arizona Department of Public Safety helicopter was also deployed from Tucson to assist in the search. Deputies working the case contacted the kayaker’s wife in Texas and informed her of the situation and received physical descriptions of the missing man and his kayak.
According to the report, at about 11:40 p.m. Dispatch informed that SAR personnel had made face-to-face contact with the missing kayaker and that he was in good health and spirits and did not wish to be rescued. The kayaker had lost a shoe but had plenty of food and water with him and was going to wait and meet back up with his family the following morning.
The kayaker’s relatives were informed of the resolution and that their missing family member was fine.
