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CEDAR HILLS, Utah County — Two brothers from Cedar Hills were rescued Tuesday morning near the Timpooneke trailhead after getting lost overnight.
Lasha Hartshorn said her sons, 22 and 16, texted her Monday night during their hike to tell her it would be safer for them to spend the night. The brothers were lost, it was getting dark and they didn't have flashlights.
Utah County Sheriff's Sgt. Spencer Cannon said their decision to stay put overnight was wise because when emergency responders located them the next morning, they were found in a slick area over a "1,200-foot, straight-down cliff drop-off."
Hartshorn said her sons called her Tuesday morning and said they weren't going to be able to get down by themselves.
Both the brothers and Hartshorn called 911 around 10:40 a.m. Tuesday, contacting American Fork police. The search and rescue team used the brothers' GPS in their cell phone to find them. It took the team over two hours to reach the brothers, who were uninjured.
"Our hikes will be very limited in the future in our family," Hartshorn said.
Searchers said the two brothers were under-prepared for their hike, and emergency responders expect facing more rescues like this one over Memorial Day weekend.
"When people find themselves in trouble, the majority of them involve people who are not well-enough prepared for the terrain they're encountering," Cannon said.
Hartshorn said the incident was very stressful.
"I had been praying and praying and praying through this whole thing," she said. "Prayer was amazing, but even with prayer, I don't want to be put through that again. Never again."
