Hiker, 76, rescued after 3 days lost in Yavapai County backcountry

PHOENIX — A 76-year-old Arizona man was found alive Monday after spending three days lost in the rugged backcountry of Yavapai County, authorities said.

Mark Young left for a solo hiking and camping trip on April 16. He was reported missing after he failed to show up for a planned dinner with family in the Verde Valley. The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office Forest Patrol launched a search and rescue operation the same night.

When searchers located Young’s rented SUV on Forest Road 16, it prompted a multiagency search team, said the sheriff’s office.

Three counties and volunteers spent three days looking for hiker

Crews from Yavapai County Search and Rescue used a Jeep Posse, Back Country Unit, 4×4 Unit and Verde SAR to launch the search.

They were joined by teams from Coconino and Maricopa counties. A local rancher joined the search team with a horse and search dogs.

Over three days, teams covered dozens of miles of steep terrain, encountering a mountain lion with a cub, a black bear and at least one rattlesnake, according to the sheriff’s office.

Searchers eventually narrowed their focus to a specific canyon.

Agencies hear shouts for help before rescuing missing hiker

On Monday morning, searchers reported hearing faint yells for help, but wind and jagged terrain made it impossible to pinpoint the source, the sheriff’s office said.

Just after 1 p.m., one of Young’s sons, who had joined the search, located his father roughly a 6-mile hike from the vehicle and relayed the location via satellite text message.

A Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office helicopter hoisted Young from the canyon floor and flew him to a Phoenix-area hospital.

Young was alert and in good spirits when he was found, the sheriff’s office said.

“My dad’s life was worth saving, and your teams showed that,” one of Young’s seven children, who helped in the search, said in the release.

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