California man missing in Arizona desert found despite turning off cellphone
A 33-year-old man from California went missing in the Arizona desert when he went out on a hike to watch a meteor shower. He was found severely sunburned and out of supplies by the Mohave County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue team.
About 6:30 p.m. Saturday, the Mohave County Sheriff's Office received a call from the man's friend. The friend reported that the man was lost somewhere in the desert and could not find his way back to his truck.
He had driven from California in search of dark skies to watch the Perseids meteor shower. At some point, he parked and walked away from the vehicle according to officials. The man had a drone and attempted to locate his truck but had no luck.
According to officials, he was out of water and showing signs of dehydration. He sent his friend a screenshot of his estimated location from the Find My iPhone app on his iPhone.
A deputy attempted to make phone contact with the man in hopes to get a better location such as GPS coordinates. They attempted to tell him to stay put and to request that he call 911 before his cellphone battery died. Officials said several calls were made in order to better locate him and none of the calls was answered, nor did the man ever call 911.
Mohave County's Search and Rescue team was then activated. Officials said the team located the man's truck and began to follow his track. Another tracking team went to the general location the lost hiker sent to his friend, but there were no signs he had been there.
The Search and Rescue team was able to follow his track from the vehicle to his current location, which was about 3 miles west of his vehicle in the Havasu National Wildlife Refuge Wilderness Area. Upon rescue, officials said the man was out of water, severely sunburned and only had a small light without other supplies. He had turned off his cellphone to conserve his battery.
Rescuers gave him water and brought him back to the command post.
"Search and Rescue wants to remind everyone when recreating in the remote and rugged wilderness areas of Mohave County: to never travel alone, bring plenty of supplies and stay put once help has been called," the Mohave County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue team wrote in its Facebook post.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Man lost in Arizona desert with no supplies turned off cellphone
