ATV riders ignore ‘dead end’ sign and get lost in AZ desert. Then they went back again
A group of ATV riders trying to make it to casinos across the Arizona desert ended up needing a rescue twice, officials said.
On Sunday, Oct. 9, three off-roaders never returned home from their ATV ride through the desert, the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office reported. The men were reported missing, and the sheriff’s office got multiple phone calls about the group.
The group had been heading toward the Black Mountains near Bullhead City when they lost their way. They could see casinos across the Colorado River, but they didn’t know how to make it onto a road, rescuers said.
“They had left an established and marked trail that would have led them to Silver Creek Road and chose to drive several miles down a trail past a sign that clearly indicated it was a ‘Dead End’ and managed to get cliffed out by surrounding canyons and washes,” rescuers said in an Oct. 12 news release.
The group was out of food and water, and they had no other supplies with them. They called 911 for help, and search-and-rescue officials started to scour the area.
When rescuers found the men, they couldn’t ride their ATVs back. The group left the vehicles behind, and rescuers told them to contact a local four-wheeling group to take them back to the ATVs.
The next day, however, the men tried to recover their ATVs on their own. They went back to the location in a Dodge Dakota truck, and they shredded two tires.
The group was lost again and split up to try to find help.
“One male managed to walk out to the Maverick gas station on the Bullhead Parkway, two males walked back out to Silver Creek Road and one remained with the truck,” rescuers said. “None of them knew where the truck was actually located, but the male remaining with the truck called 911.”
Rescuers didn’t get a precise location from the 911 call, and they had to search a 4-mile radius from where the man called for help.
“Which becomes looking for a needle in a haystack from the ground in the dark,” officials said.
A helicopter found the truck and brought the man back to safety, and he was reunited with his family.
“While recreating in the remote desert wilderness areas of Mohave County, Search and Rescue wants to remind everyone to plan ahead and be prepared for their adventures,” rescuers said. “Bring plenty of water and other supplies.”
This story was originally published October 13, 2022 at 2:11 PM with the headline "ATV riders ignore ‘dead end’ sign and get lost in AZ desert. Then they went back again."