Jon Johnson File Photo/Gila Herald
By Jon Johnson
FORT THOMAS – Two motorists who spent the night lost in the wilderness were found safe from harm late Tuesday night.
The motorists were reported stranded in the Diamond Bar Canyon area on Tuesday. The area is between Fort Thomas and Bylas, north of the Gila River.
According to a Graham County Sheriff’s Office report, County Dispatch received a call at about 4:50 p.m. from a man who advised that his 44-year-old son had called him in a panic about being stranded. The man said the phone cut out and he was unable to reach his son again.
The lost motorist’s phone pinged coordinates roughly 45 miles from a Globe tower and 48 miles from a cell tower in Miami, Arizona.
The Graham County Search and Rescue Team assembled at about 7 p.m. and sent five UTVs out from its command post to search for the motorist and his passenger.
At about 11:45 p.m., a search team located the two motorists and their vehicle, which was stuck on a rough road. The SAR transported both men back home. Both advised they were fine physically and did not require any medical attention.
According to the report, the driver advised he and his friend had set out at dusk the previous day attempting to get to “Malapie Canyon” but got lost. They eventually got the vehicle stuck on a large rock and became stranded. A deputy later advised that they would have to make arrangements to retrieve the vehicle on their own at a later time.
