Two women, out for a casual hike, were dropped off yesterday morning at a trailhead in the Superstition Mountains and promptly disappeared until they were rescued the next day by deputies from the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.
Every year, Sheriff’s Office sworn and posse units including search and rescue, mountain rescue, air, among others, are called out time and time again when individuals venture into parks or in the wilderness, following trails or blazing their own, and find themselves either unprepared or incapable of taking on the challenge. So it was that Grace Guilfoyle, 42, and Karen Rutowski, 51, disembarked from the car of Loren Guilfoyle, Grace’s’s husband, and set off around 11 am along the First Water Trailhead in the Superstition Mountains. Dressed in light clothing, they had their phones with them, as well as a few snacks – all appropriate for a daytime trek.
The call came into the Sheriff’s Office nine hours later. Loren Guilfoyle was supposed to pick up his wife and her friend between 4:30 and 5p, but they hadn’t showed. Nor could he reach her on her phone.
As usual, the Sheriff’s Office quickly swung into action. Deputies were dispatched, as was the Sheriff’s helicopter. The Dares Posse and the Desert Search Unit Posse were called out as well. Thus, in short order, men, women, dogs and helicopters were combing the trails and mountains.
The search continued into the increasingly raw night. Finding two people in such a vast, rugged area, especially two people who didn’t follow the route they had proposed to follow, is always a difficult task. Still, the searchers did not falter but pressed on, even as night turned into day. Every minute counted, as the searchers imagined how rough it would be – even life-threatening – for two women lost in the wilderness with neither adequate shelter, sustenance nor attire.
Finally, at 7:32 am, word came over the radio: Deputies had located the women. They had a medical evaluation at the scene, and given hydration. Both refused further medical treatment, and the incident was considered resolved.