Pinal County Sheriff’s Office deputies are investigating the death of an ATV rider on a trail near the Picket Post Trailhead outside of Superior. At about 8:30 p.m. on March 17, PCSO received word of a 65-year-old male who was found deceased by friends a few miles in from the Picket Post Trailhead.
Deputies from the Pinal County Search and Rescue unit arrived at the trailhead shortly after 9 p.m. and contacted the persons reporting the incident. The man’s friends called PCSO for assistance when he had not returned to his campsite after being out for over 5 hours riding his Polaris all-terrain vehicle alone. Prior to law enforcement or EMS arrival, they went out and searched the trail where he was riding and found him and his vehicle in a wash.
Sheriff Paul Babeu said, “Our initial investigation into this tragic death shows that this was most likely an accident. Evidence at the scene showed the man most likely lost control of his ATV causing him to drive off the trail and into the wash. The impact of the fall off the eight-foot ledge caused the victim massive head trauma.”