KANE COUNTY, Utah, Mar. 17, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — The Kane County Sheriff’s Office has released an account of its three days leading searches and rescues in likely now notorious Buckskin Gulch.
Two men died but eleven people were rescued from Monday through Wednesday in the aftermath of flash flooding in the 16-mile slot canyon. Canyon is a misnomer, as is gulch — more like a gash in the earth, vertical sometimes 50-foot-walls sometimes only a foot apart.
Deputies, search and rescue crews, park rangers and others spent hundreds of hours assisted by multiple helicopters over the three days described in the sheriff’s press release issued late Thursday night on social media. The roughly 1,000-word post, equal to four typewritten pages, details the ordeal for both the slot canyon’s victims and its searchers.
“A little before 9 a.m. Monday, March 13, 2023, Kane County Dispatch received a call regarding three overdue hikers,” the Sheriff’s Office statement begins. Three men from Tampa, Florida, had planned on hiking the gulch over the weekend as well as south all the way to Lee’s Ferry in Arizona from Friday through Sunday.
“When they had not contacted their families by Monday morning, one of their wives called to report them overdue. The three men are Ed Smith, Jeff Watson, and Bill Romaniello.
“Buckskin Gulch is the longest slot canyon in North America, and a very popular hike located in Kane County, Utah, bringing thousands of visitors every year.”
The sheriff’s office and its search and rescue crews assembled and the search began shortly after 9 a..m. Monday, with Utah Department of Public Safety helicopters requested, arriving shortly after noon.
While involved in the search for the three men from Tampa, the county received a distress call from another group in the gulch in need of help. DPS was able to locate the group, exhausted and unable to continue because of the conditions. The party of six was hoisted out by chopper.
By 5 p.m. Monday, DPS located a lone individual in the canyon via infrared camera. A chopper crew lowered a responder and the man was identified as an extremely cold and weak Ed Smith. He was also hoisted out of the canyon to waiting medical staff.
“After providing a quick interview he was transported to the hospital by medical helicopter. Mr. Smith reported that Saturday morning the group was hit by a flash flood which carried them downstream.” Smith and Watson were able to get free from the rushing waters, but not Romaniello, the sheriff’s office said. “They searched for Bill but were unable to find him and eventually continued downstream to try and get to help.
“Jeff was dealing with a leg injury from the first day and after a while was unable to proceed. After getting Jeff situated, Ed continued on to look for help.”
Crews then entered Buckskin Gulf at the Middle Route Trail to begin searching from the ground for Watson and Romaniello. During the night a search team located Romaniello deceased in the canyon near the Middle Route area.
Searchers continued looking for Watson in treacherous conditions until about 4 a.m. Tuesday. “Teams faced neck-deep frigid pools of water and waist-deep quicksand.”
When DPS choppers and searchers resumed their efforts later Tuesday morning “once again, another distress call was received and the DPS crew helped extract another group of four hikers from the canyon.”
While locating the four from the new distress call, searchers encountered a lone hiker several miles into Arizona. He indicated he had passed a deceased individual on Monday and described a location but crews were unable to locate a body Tuesday, the sheriff’s office said.
No further information on the lone hiker is mentioned or whether he had tried to report the body he encountered a day earlier. He was contacted by a Coconino County Arizona sheriff’s deputy when he completed his hike at Lee’s Ferry.
Wednesday morning Kane County was experiencing heavy rain and crews were not able to begin searching until early afternoon. With the additional information from the hiker, DPS and searchers were able to locate the deceased Jeff Watson about 3-1/2 miles into Arizona in the canyon. Watson’s body was lifted out via the DPS chopper hoist and turned over to the Coconino County Coroner’s Office for investigation.
“The Kane County Sheriff’s Office wishes to thank the many deputies, BLM rangers, dispatchers and other individuals who assisted with this difficult situation,” the release said, lauding the efforts of the DPS Aero Bureau and the volunteer search and rescue crews.
“Our hearts pour out to the Romaniello and Watson families for their loss. Both men were pillars in their community and a huge loss to the healthcare field where they worked.”
