Missing 70-year-old Woman

Written by Glenn Henderson

The team was activated to search for a missing 70- year-old woman whose car was found near Desert Center. She was from Kingman Arizona and had been reported missing for 2 or 3 weeks. A telephone lineman found her car stuck in the sand in a ravine off of a dirt road. The car was not visible unless you drove on the dirt road and looked down the ravine. Desert Search and Rescue and Blythe SAR had been out the day before and had found prints but lost them on the south side of the dirt road.

Gary, Lew, and I reached base camp at 7 AM and received an assigned area to cover. We headed out along with some members of the Blythe team and deployed out in a line search. We searched until 11 AM when we completed our assignment. As we were heading back to base we were picked up by members of the ROVE (Riverside Off-road Vehicle Enforcement) team in some of their quads.

When we got back to base Star 9 Helicopter arrived on scene and began searching as well as members of the Border Patrol. We started figuring out new assignments when Star 9 circled around us and landed close by. We did not understand why they landed as no one had asked them to. When they got to us they told us they had found her quite a ways away and up a steep canyon.

One of the Border Patrol teams was close and got up to her after 2 hours of strenuous hiking and climbing. She had obviously been there for many days. The Patrol packaged her up and Star 9 flew her out.

We were all released at 3 PM to return home. Our sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of the missing woman.

RMRU Members Involved: Gary Farris, Glenn Henderson, and Lew Kingman.