WASHINGTON COUNTY, Utah, Feb. 17, 2025 (Gephardt Daily) — A father and son in Washington County, who got lost Sunday evening while hiking in the Red Mountain Trail area of Dammeron Valley, benefited from two lucky breaks — which got them home, safe and sound, about 12 hours after they were reported missing.
The males, ages 33 and 12, were battling darkness and temperatures in the 30s, but their families had shared the brand of their boots, so searchers knew the nature of the prints they were trying to find, Sgt. Jacob Paul, Washington County Sheriff’s Office, told Gephardt Daily.
Not only that, tracks on the top of Red Mountain were limited due to a recent rain that had erased older, overlapping and unrelated tracks.
“It was a nice, clear surface to leave boot tracks on,” Sgt. Paul said.
The second lucky break was an even longer shot, a little closer to the “miracle” level.
“I think it was Jan. 4, so about a month and a half ago, up in that same exact area, we were able to locate a (different) male and get him off safely,” Paul said.
In that incident, the lost man had attempted to throw a backpack over a gap and then jump the gap.
The man safely cleared the gap, but his backpack didn’t.
“So the backpack ended up going down the hill from where he was, and he wasn’t able to locate it,” Paul said. “We rescued him, but he never did find his pack.”
It turned out that the father and son who got lost Sunday ended up stranded on the very same ledge where the other man’s backpack had landed.
“That pack had emergency blankets and supplies in it, and they were able to use those, basically, to survive until our search personnel got to them and were able to get them out,” Paul said.
“With probably over 100 square miles of Red Mountain that they could have gotten lost on, they happened to get lost in the exact same spot where that pack had fallen, and they had the resources they needed but didn’t have with them.”
Hours passed while rescuers worked to identify their boot prints, followed the prints to the correct general area, and then called out for them repeatedly before hearing any response. Paul explained that it was hard to isolate their voices due to the difficult terrain, darkness, and other environmental factors.
They might have been fine, Paul said, “but they definitely would not have been comfortable, and they would have been in a lot worse shape when we found them, had they not found that pack and been able to use the stuff in it.”
The father and son were evaluated and airlifted out, but declined to be transported to a hospital.
Other agencies involved in the operation were the Utah Department of Public Safety, which brought in a helicopter to search, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Life Flight, and Gold Cross Ambulance.
Father and son were airlifted out at about 7:30 a.m. Monday, as shown in this Washington County Sheriff video.
