GALLERY: Emery County Search and Rescue: Any Day, Any Time, Any Where

By Patsy Stoddard

It takes a special breed to become an Emery County Search and Rescue member. These men take their job very seriously and they are among the best in the state at what they do. Emery County Sheriff Greg Funk will let you know how appreciative he is of the team.
The search and rescue meets monthly for training meetings. They hold specialized training throughout the year for rope training, underwater rescue, etc.  and they train each year with the national guard and special forces that use Emery County as a training ground.
The number of members tops out at 40. If you want to be on the team you will turn in an application and come and meet everyone. When an opening becomes available team members will vote and Sheriff Funk will have final approval on whether this person will fit well on the team.
Team members endure physical hardships when they are out on a rescue. It can be blazing hot or freezing cold, often on the same rescue.
Currently Howard Tuttle is the team member with the most experience.
Greg Jewkes is the current president of the search and rescue team. He has 20 years experience. “I’ve been on the search and rescue almost 20 years. I was a member of the fire department in Orangeville and two or three guys I worked with there started inviting me along. So I went out with them a few times and discovered that I loved it. These are a great group of guys to be around. The number of rescues has increased over the years. Our area is becoming more and more popular which increases the number of rescues. Anytime there’s a rescue in an area and it hits the news, that area becomes more popular and increases traffic to an area. Blue John Canyon became more popular after Aron Ralston was stuck in there and Justin Harris in Baptist Draw.”
Mike Taylor has been with the team for eight years, Wade Allinson for eight years and Zac Crawford for 2 and a half years. Jim Byars is going on 11 years with the Search and Rescue.
Allinson said, “We are a complete volunteer organization. We volunteer our time and our equipment. We volunteer our resources. We volunteer our talents. It’s interesting that each one of us has our own specialty. We have team members that are good with the ropes. We have people with a vast knowledge of the desert. Some know the canyons. Some can get around on horseback and others with motorcycles. All these talents strengthen the organization. Another thing is everyone has some sort of medical knowledge or training like EMTs and everyone takes a Wilderness First Responder class.
“We had a recent rescue in Dang canyon and the patient had a severely dislocated knee. We could take her vitals and stabilize her. She was battling shock. We had everything in place to help and stabilize her and keep her from deep shock.
“The Search and Rescue is a volunteer branch of the Emery County Sheriff’s Office. Everyone’s talent is what makes it work. This is an amazing group. They are always on call. They sacrifice when a call comes in. They drop what they’re doing and leave just like that. It’s amazing,” said Allinson.
Jimmy Byars said, “When I first started my wife used to say, ‘why does it have to be you?’ Then one night I received a call about a boy from Emery who went over a cliff on a 3-wheeler. It was a fatal. I rappelled down to him. My wife watched everything with the recovery. She said now I know why, somebody has to do that job. I have her full support now. She’s always willing to help get things ready. Everyone of us has a wife standing behind them, or we wouldn’t be doing it. Our wives are all very supportive.”
Allinson said, “Our wives will prepare sandwiches to send with us, because sometimes we don’t get back until the next day. My wife is very helpful.”
Byars said, “Not everybody is appreciative when we find them. Sometimes we get cussed and they say what took you so long. We didn’t get there fast enough. I’d say 90 percent of the people are appreciative. All we really want is a thank you. When you see the look on their face, they’ve had their defense mechanism, their coping mechanism at work and then they look and see us and you can see their tears. They let their guard down.”
Allinson said, “When we rescued the girl in Zero Gravity, she sent us a cake, we’ve received thank you notes and donations for our organization. Most are appreciative.”
Why are there so many rescues in the Swell and surrounding areas? The search and rescue members listed city people without a knowledge of what they’re getting into leads to searches, inexperienced hikers in the desert. People who over-estimate their abilities. People who have an accident out there and receive an injury.
Byars said, “Sometimes people just jump off a rock and land wrong and get injured.”
Allinson said, “You’re only as good as the slowest and weakest in your group. When you bring someone else along, you need to plan around the weakest person whether it be hiking, biking, the slowest person should determine the pace.”
Taylor said, “Some of the visitors just don’t understand the terrain. Some of them follow guidebooks and these guidebooks are written for professionals. When it gets dark people get turned around.”
Allinson said,”Sometimes people underestimate how long it’s going to take them to get through one of the canyons. People can slow you down. With the internet and hiking sites, hiking films and Facebook we’ve seen a correlation with people getting in trouble.”
Byars said, “We used to have 16 rescues a year on average. Last year we had over 100 rescues. They’re doing a good job promoting our area.”
Allinson said, “We have a partnership with the travel bureau, we want to help visitors understand and be ready for what they’re going to experience out here.”
Search and Rescue members recognized the need to educate people before they get here on what they can expect. They need proper equipment and a working knowledge of where they’re going and how long they’re going to be gone. Hikers should always notify someone else of where they are going and when they plan to return. If the hiker doesn’t return the person can notify authorities that someone is missing.
Byars said, “There are a few kiosks at trail heads. These need to let hikers know they need to take adequate food and water to last if something happens and they don’t get back as planned.”
Kirk McQuivey said, “I think letting someone know where you’re going is very important. One of the last rescues in Dang canyon, the Dad knew where the son was going to be. Take a small first aid kit with you.”
If you don’t tell someone at least leave a note in your car because search and rescue checks out the vehicles in the area for clues of where the hiker might be. Always take plenty of food and water.
The guidebooks often underestimate the times it will take to make the hikes. Guidebooks with trails underlined have been used from hikers cars to locate a hiker.
Jewkes said a major problem hikers experience is not knowing the hike and the terrain and what they’re getting into.
Allinson said the spot devices work well and it’s a good idea to have one. “Another bright side to search and rescue now is the access to the helicopters. We have medical choppers and the DPS chopper and they’re always willing to help us out.”
Jewkes said, “Emery County had the second highest usage of the helicopters in the state last year, just behind Salt Lake County. Use of the helicopter saves a lot of time and resources.”
One of the most memorable rescues for Crawford was searching Behind the Reef for the mother and child who were lost. Wade Allinson and Brett Guymon were searching on motorcycles and Brett was able to find some tracks; he would whistle and then they would yell back and forth and then there was a voice in the dark and they answered Brett. It was just amazing.
Taylor said he remembers one rescue in Dang Canyon and it was raining and they were able to get the victim out before any water came down the slot canyon. Taylor said that water in those slot canyons is spooky to him. “Everything is good while you’re busy rescuing someone and your mind is busy then when it’s over and it sets in and you think how dangerous it was,” said Taylor.
Ronnie Bloomer said he’s relatively new to Search and Rescue, but riding in the helicopter in a search at Goblin Valley was the most memorable and interesting.
Mcquivey told how he copes with the reality when a rescue becomes a recovery. “I just tell myself that it’s just the body. The spirit is gone. That’s the way I have to deal with it.”
Jewkes said, “A recovery is for the family. Having the body back of their loved one. We try to make it as peaceful as possible.”
Taylor said, “It’s our job and nobody wants to do it.”
McQuivey said he’s been out on more rescues with happy endings than bad.
Byars said when you know someone that’s died or been injured, it weighs on you. You try to disassociate yourself from what’s happened, but at some point you have to deal with it. The incident with the boy in Emery haunted him and he asked for help in dealing with it. It’s OK to ask for help to recover from these difficult situations these search and rescue team members go through.
Jewkes said his most memorable rescue was helping Justin Harris in Baptist Draw. “It was so cold. It was Thanksgiving weekend. I remember walking in insulated coveralls and the water bottles in my pockets kept freezing, you would have to break the ice to get a drink. We were throwing M80s into canyons and then we’d sit and listen for any response. His brother had hiked out and was in the hospital and he had no idea where he’d left Justin.”
The team members agreed that search and rescue is addicting. Byars said it’s the look in their eyes when they’re found the gratitude and the thank you that keeps them on the search and rescue team.
Team members agreed, they don’t really think about their safety or what could have happened until after the rescue.
Brad Reed said, “Like with Justin, we went down at night into Baptist Draw and when we saw what it looked like in the daylight we thought we shouldn’t have done that, but you do what you have to do.”
Team members said it’s great to come and see Emery County, but think ahead and be prepared. Don’t overestimate your abilities and let someone know where you’ll be. If you are on a bike, motorcycle or ATV then wear your helmet.
Howard Tuttle said Claude Scovill was the first captain of the sheriff’s posse and it started in the mid-1950s. Tuttle said he joined in 1967. Members in those days was around 18. McQuivey said it’s only been lately they’ve had more volunteers for search and rescue. There are 33 members and there can be 40.
Tuttle said his most memorable experience was with a man in a car that was in a snowbank on the Skyline. The man really thought he was going to die, he had written a good-bye note.
Nathan Martinez is a ranger at Goblin Valley State Park. He said visitors to the park need to have enough water and the proper equipment. “Leave information of where you’re going. If there’s an injury and we don’t know where you are, it takes longer to get to you. You can let the visitor center at the park know where you’ll be. Have a personal locator or beacon. At Goblin Valley if you have a beacon, it makes it a lot easier. Start in beginner canyons if you don’t know the area. Don’t go out if there’s a chance of rain. We have about 10 rescues a year at Goblin Valley. Don’t jump off of rocks, be careful. Remember there isn’t any gas at Goblin Valley and come prepared.”
The search and rescue team thrives on getting out and helping people out of their worst situations. Sheriff Funk said he appreciates everything the search and rescue does for the county and the caliber of people he has who are willing to drop everything and respond any day, anytime and anywhere