Debra Schwartz missing in Sedona area
Sedona AZ (May 6, 2016) – The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office is asking the public for help in locating an Arizona State University professor reported missing in Oak Creek Canyon.
Debra Schwartz of Tempe, Arizona, was last seen camping by herself the morning of May 4 at Pine Flat Campground. According to the Sheriff’s Office, she was supposed to either check out Friday morning or pay for another day. When she never showed up, the campground host went to investigate. Schwartz’s vehicle, tent and personal belongings were all still at her campsite, but she was missing.
The Pine Flat Campground host then called the local 911 dispatch center to report her as a missing person at approximately 9:00 a.m. According to the Sheriff’s Office, there is concern for Schwartz’s welfare.
Schwartz is a 59-year-old white woman who is 5-foot-4-inches tall, weighs about 160 pounds and has green eyes and brown hair. It is unknown what kind or color of clothing she was wearing when she disappeared.
Sheriff’s Office deputies and Search and Rescue are combing the area around Pine Flat in Oak Creek Canyon, and an Arizona Department of Public Safety helicopter from Kingman is conducting searches from the air.
Anyone with information about Schwartz should call the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office at (928) 774-4523 or 800-338-7888. Anyone who wants to provide information but wishes to remain anonymous may call Silent Witness at 774-6111 or (877) 29-CRIME, submit a tip online at www.coconinosilentwitness.org, or text the word “Flagtip” along with your information to 274637 (CRIMES).
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Day two of the search for Debra Schwartz who was found to be missing from her campsite at Pine Flats campground yesterday, continued throughout today utilizing numerous resources from the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office, the Coconino County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Unit, the Yavapai County Search and Rescue Unit, the Arizona Department of Public Safety Air Rescue unit and the Arizona State University Police Department.
Yesterday afternoon ten CCSO SAR personnel conducted hasty searches of the two trails closest to the Pine Flat Campground which are the Cook Stove trail and the Harding Springs Trail. This is a quick and efficient search by small teams that travel quickly to the likely spots and by the route of least resistance. A hasty search is generally the first tactic used in the early hours and days of a search. The team also conducted searches along Oak Creek for a distance of approximately one mile each on either side of the Pine Flats campground. They also conducted perimeter searches on both sides of the Pine Flats campground, lit should be noted that the campground is split by Highway 89 A. An Arizona Department of Public Safety Air Rescue helicopter and crew based in Kingman, AZ conducted numerous overflights beginning at the campsite which is the location where Debra was last known to be. The crew also conducted aerial searches of several trails located in close proximity to Pine Flats and the area located east of the campground.
Day two of the search for Debra Schwartz began early this morning just after daylight with more than forty ground searchers from both the Coconino and Yavapai counties search and rescue groups. Eight of the searchers were equipped with search dogs. Debra Schwartz is a professor at Arizona State University. Coconino County Sheriff’s Detectives are working closely with the ASU Police Department to accumulate any information that may be prove to be helpful in locating Debra Schwartz and in determining the circumstances surrounding her disappearance. Investigators have determined that is was Debra’s intent to camp at Pine Flats Tuesday to Thursday of last week. Anyone with information regarding the current location or the circumstances leading up to Debra Schwartz’s disappearance are urged to immediately contact the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office at one of the below listed locations.