― SAR COORDINATES ―
 

April 2004
 

TONTO RIM SEARCH AND RESCUE SQUAD, Inc.

P.O. BOX 357 • STRAWBERRY AZ 85544
 

A self-supporting, not-for-profit group of volunteer citizens dedicated

to improving safety in the Arizona wilderness.
 

 Operating under the authority of the Gila County Sheriff's Office

John Armer • Sheriff

― COMMANDER'S CORNER ―

Eight callouts and four trainings have made this a very busy month for Tonto Rim Search and Rescue.  The pollen issues this month has made these missions very uncomfortable for most of us.  Carl Hacker didn’t need a radio or GPS to tell us where he was.  He could be heard sneezing for miles.  I would like to thank to all who participated in these missions and trainings. 

Bob and Bev Furst, Martin Szekeresh and Scott Reger responded on very short notice to distribute flyers in Beaver Valley related to the Eastman incident.  Their efforts are greatly appreciated. 

There are three new Certified Man Trackers.  They are Tom Zeisberger, Margaret Bullard and Vynette Sage.  There is a night tracking training session the 12^th of April.  Since most of our tracking missions are at night, this will be good experience for those who would like to sharpen their tracking skills.  Jim Martin and his crew of Certified Man Trackers are doing a great job providing tracking scenarios. 

We have a core group of individuals who are providing excellent training in all areas of Search and Rescue.  If you would like to volunteer to run a training session, or have a training session request, contact any board member or John Boyles.  If you are conducting a training session, please get your information to John Boyles as soon as possible so he can get the event on the schedule.  Training is the key to our success, so attend as many training sessions as you can. 

The General Meeting this month is the 8^th of April.  I hope to see you all there.

Stay active and stay healthy.

Dave Pirtle 507

― APRIL MEETINGS • MARK YOUR CALENDARS ―

Board Meeting • April 6th ― General Meeting • April 8th

― A SENIOR MOMENT ―

By:  Jane Boyles

THE MUMMY

Several years ago when John and I were members of Maricopa’s Metro Assist Posse, we were called to the Globe area to help with a body recovery from a cave. The body had been found the previous week by a group of cavers called the “Grotto”, based in Phoenix, who was mapping the extensive cave system in and around Globe. 

As all deceased persons found in unusual circumstances are treated as crime scenes until proven otherwise, Gila County Sheriff’s Office was directing this investigation.  Getting to the deceased proved to be the hardest and most time consuming part of the investigation.  The Gila County SO had requested assistance from Maricopa SO as they needed experienced cave rescue personnel from the Sheriff’s office to oversee  the recovery. Maricopa’s Mountain Rescue team was called  to perform this duty.  At the time they were quite sure the victim was a local man reported missing two years prior.  The body was in an offshoot from the main cave and wedged in a fetal position.  The first attempt at retrieval was not successful. Due to the mummified state of the remains, the head came off when removal was tried.  This caused a suspension in the retrieval attempt.  The original group had determined that it would be necessary to get rescuers around the blocked passage and enter from below the body.

After setting up the motor home Command at the base of the mountain, we were briefed by Gila County Detective Tom Rasmussen on the previous attempts. The cave opening was located some distance up the hill from our Post. The body was positioned a 3-4 hour crawl into the cave system.  Mountain Rescue had brought a military field phone set-up in order to communicate with us in Command.  A lot of equipment was transported to the cave entrance where John’s job was to set up a remote Command.  All equipment and personnel entering the cave were inventoried at this point.  Wiring for electricity was laid along with the field phone wires and several power tools were packed into the area of the subject.  The preparation time took several hours.  Generator fuel had to be hauled up the hill to the entrance and a man was stationed there to keep the machine running. 

The teams were divided into segments, each one having a specific assignment.  A total of eleven people crawled through the passages.  Three stations were set up along the way for safety purposes.  The stations were available to relay more equipment, communications or render aid if needed. Remember all of the Mountain Rescue group are at least certified as EMT’s.  Rescuers were sent into the area at the top of the body with the smaller ones being directed around through another passage in order to reach the area at the man’s feet.  Amongst the Mountain Rescue team members is a doctor.  Being six feet tall, he was unable to go the whole way into the scene.  Due to the fetal position the man had dried in, it became necessary to saw the body into several parts.   The Doctor supervised this dismemberment by phone, explaining exactly where to cut.  Every step in this retrieval had to be approved by Detective Rasmussen, which necessitated many three way conversations via field phone and radio. The only one small enough to reach the body from below was a young female experienced caver.  Electric tools were passed into her to accomplish the dismemberment.  His body had molded around a large rock in his back, locking him in the fetal position.  Airflow through the cave system had allowed for total mummification of the remains.   These remains were placed in a body bag and transported to the surface by the rescuers. Because the cave was so dry, the rescuers needed to wear dust masks, something no one had thought of, or brought with them.  Always being prepared, John had a package of masks in his equipment.  All equipment and personnel were checked off the list upon exiting the cave maintaining a total inventory control.

 This was one of the first times a laptop was used for documentation at the scene and I was eternally grateful to Maricopa SAR Coordinator Dave Trombie for that piece of equipment, as documentation was so extensive.  The remains were removed to the SO where a debriefing was held. The autopsy was done in Tucson where positive identification was made.  This whole event was an example of many people and multiple agencies working together for a successful conclusion.

― APPRECIATION PLAQUE ―

- Click on the thumbnail to view on "Photo Page" -

This plaque was presented to Barbara Hall for all the support that the

Pine Strawberry Arts and Crafts Guild has given us

― SAR PHOTOS ―

― SAR WEBSITE ―

Our website has been revamped. It has a lot more info:  http://www.trsar.org/

― MEMBER PROFILE ―

By:  Tim Somsen

JEFF O'NEILL  546

Jeff joined TRSAR in November 2002 because "It sounds like fun to me!"  The challenge of learning so many new things really piqued his interest.  Like doing the First Responder class together and then going onto EMT-B.  Soon he'll be in rope rescue and then who knows?  He really enjoys the people he's with when we get together.

His education started with graduating high school in the bay area of San Francisco (Woodside), then college at Menlo for 2 years and finishing up at San Jose St. with dual degrees in Psychology and Advertising in 1970.

He spent 10 years with McDonalds as an Operations Manager in San Jose and Salt Lake City.  From there he went on to be the President and COO of Q-Lube and the VP for Quaker State Oil.  Q-Lube went from 31 locations to over 600 while he was there.  He left the management turmoil in 1996 to be the owner-operator of 7 Q-Lube locations in Tucson.  In 1999 Pennzoil bought him out and he retired to Payson in 2000.

Now he works at Chaparral Pines and his wife, Jan, works at KMOG radio.  Jeff has two boys, grown and away, by his first marriage and two step-children in Payson High, with Jan.  His step-daughter, Christina, has a full-ride academic scholarship to the University of Arizona this fall.  Along with working, family and SAR, he plans to volunteer with Life Star as an EMT-B to network into some paying hours.  On occasion Jeff has been the camp cook for the Mogollon Outfitters of Phoenix during elk season.  He has had horses since living in Utah and currently has two, along with various other farm animals.

Jeff brings a lot of talent and enthusiasm to TRSAR. We are proud to have his expertise.

― TRAINING SCHEDULE ― 

Scheduled Training Sessions (current)

April Training Schedule

07 Apr (Wed)

Navigation Training (GPS) – Time: 1730 – Place: Across the road from the corrals on Houston Mesa (Jim Oelerich in charge) Needed: GPS and related equipment

08 Apr (Thu)

First Responder Trauma- After General Meeting – (Jeff O’Neill Instructor)

12 Apr (Mon) 

Man Tracking Field Practice – Night Tracking – Time:1900-Location: FR198

 (In charge Jim Martin)

15 Apr (Thu).

CPR –Time:1830 -Place: Ira’s Home- Instructor: (Ira Gibel.)

17 Apr (Sat)

Rope Training- Time: 0800- Place: Box Canyon - (in charge Roger Miotto assisted by Rope  Instructors) interested people invited to attend

28 Apr (Wed)

Gillaland ATV Exercise: Stage at 0476572/3791374 -Time: 0900 - Supplies: Diamond Point and Payson North Quad Maps, Tonto FS Map, Scales, Ruler, Pencil, Paper, Food, Radio, Batteries Extra Fuel & water 

Planned Training Sessions

(after next general meeting)

 08 May (Sat)

Man Tracking Certification- Time and Place :TBA- (Jim Martin in charge) 

15 May (Sat.)

Rope Training- Time: 0800 - Place: TBA - (in charge Roger Miotto assisted by Rope Instructors)  Interested people invited to attend.

26 May (Wed)

Snow Storm ATV Exercise- Time: 0900 

20 May (Thu).

First Responder-Place: Ira’s Home-Time: 1830- Instructor (Ira Gibel)

17 June (Thu.)

First Aid-Place: Ira’s Home- Time 1830- Instructor (Ira Gibel)

12 Jun (Sat.) 

Man Tracking Field Practice - Time and Location TBA- (in charge: J. Martin )

Planned *  Basic SAR Academy

Sign-up required to attend this training  *  See following notes:

To reserve use of squad ATV or trail bike, contact John Avery at 928-476-2106 or 480-892-4424

To use trail bikes:  gloves, boots, helmet, and eye protection required.  Denim jacket on ATV required.

― WILDERNESS TRAIL SIGNS ― 

April 10^th is the date set for our assisting AZ Game & Fish to set posts and signs at the wilderness trails.

Commander Pirtle and Vice-Commander Pitterle met with G&F/Forest Service Thursday, April 1st.  They picked up our materials (Posts, cement and decals).  We were given 7 posts (Rim Country 4 Wheelers were given 7 posts).  Three of our posts are on the Highline trail.   V-C Pitterle is taking charge of these post assignments. 

The remaining 4 posts are going to need ATV's for access to these areas.  These areas are off the 178 trail (south of Christopher Mt.) and the south east side of Hells Gate wilderness area. 

 The sign placement is scheduled for the 10th of April.  Cmdr Pirtle delivered the posts to the assigned areas on Sunday 4-3-04. Posts are 5 feet long and weigh 65 pounds each. We will only have to carry with us on the 10th of April, the cement, 8 bags, (two 60lb bags per pole) and 4 Five gallon containers of water (five gallons per post) plus digging tools. V-C Pitterle will have his crew start 9 am.  Cmdr. Pirtle will have the ATV crew meet at 0730 at Colcord Rd and 260. 

― MISSIONS SUMMARY― 

Tonto Rim Search and Rescue Missions Summary

Year             Missions         Hours              Rescues          Searches         Recoveries     Other

2004 (to date)         8                  308                     2                       6                       --                  --

2003                     26                 1750                   11                     12                       2                  1

2002                     13                 1189                    4                       7                        1                  1

2001                     36               1630.5                  12                     21                       3                  --

2000                     24               1588.5                  10                     12                       1                  1

1999                     11               1916.5                   2                       9                        --                  --

1998                     23                 1486                   11                     10                       2                  --

Info collected and presented by Les Hulse 527

Thanks to those who contributed to this issue of the newsletter.   Mike  502