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SALT LAKE CITY — A volunteer was injured during the search for a teenager who left a wilderness therapy group in southern Utah.
A 17-year-old boy got a letter from his mother that he didn’t like, so he stormed off from his wilderness therapy group. He had a little water and some cold-weather clothing, but he ditched his down jacket.
Washington County Sheriff’s Deputy Darell Cashin said the boy did that because it was red, and the teen didn’t want to be easily spotted.
The boy wandered into a camp at Jackson Springs near Gunlock Reservoir at 2 a.m. Sunday. He was cold, tired, hungry and thirsty. An adult called 911 from his cellphone, and deputies and volunteers arrived to get the teen.
During the search for him, a search-and-rescue volunteer hit his head when his Jeep spun out on a dusty Motaqua Road. The man was knocked unconscious.
“He came into a corner and hit some washboard with his Jeep,” Cashin said. “He tapped his brakes, and when he did, his Jeep turned 180 degrees and rolled onto its right side. It knocked him out.”
The volunteer was pulled from his Jeep, but lost consciousness again before being taken by ambulance to Dixie Regional Medical Center. He was released around the time the teen turned up.
The boy walked nine miles in wilderness that included coyotes and cougars. He has been reunited with his group.
Cashin reported five search-and-rescue operations in the past week. He spent Monday replenishing supplies and maintaining equipment.
