Mount Elden is located in central Coconino County northeast of Flagstaff, Arizona, and has an elevation of 9,298′ (2,834 m)

Sedona AZ (August 12, 2013) – Three hikers left their vehicle parked at the Trinity Heights Church, Flagstaff, Arizona, on Sunday, August 12, at about 1:30 p.m. and “scrambled” or hiked up the mountain reaching the top at around 7:00 in the evening. As the group began to hike down the mountain along the same route, one of the men believed he saw a bear. This caused the party to move to the east, closer to the radio towers on the top of Mount Elden. They began their descent in a steep ravine that eventually leads into an area known as the Water Falls. Due to the steep and rocky terrain and the dark conditions, the three hikers decided to spend the night and reassess their situation on Monday morning during daylight conditions.

In the morning at about 7:40 a.m., the hikers surveyed the surrounding terrain and considered the fact that the older hiker had injured his knee. Based on an injury assessment, the hikers determined that they required assistance from rescue personnel. One of the men used his cell phone to call a relative who was waiting for them in the parking lot of the Trinity Heights Church to request assistance; that relative then called the Sheriff’s Office at about 2:00 in the afternoon.

A Coconino County Sheriff’s Deputy who serves as a Search and Rescue coordinator asked an Arizona Department of Public Safety Air Rescue crew to fly over Mount Elden for the purpose of obtaining an exact location of the stranded hikers; a thirty seven year-old male, his ten year-old son and the injured hiker. After the AZ DPS over flight, the deputy and five members of the Technical Rescue Team hiked to the identified location.

Search and Rescue personnel escorted the uninjured father and son on foot to the bottom of Mount Elden. The Technical Rescue Team used a system of ropes and pulleys to lower the injured hiker a distance of approximately 100 feet where the rescuers were then able to assist the man in hiking the rest of the way to the bottom of the mountain.

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