UPDATE: All members of youth group rescued from Garfield County slot canyon

GARFIELD COUNTY, Utah — Garfield County Sheriff Danny Perkins reports that a rescue involving 17 members of a church youth group is complete and that everybody has been successfully removed from the Sandthrax slot canyon.  

I got an update on the Search And Rescue involving the youth group. Everyone has been rescued and taken to safety everyone is OK. I can’t thank our DPS helicopter crew enough along with Wayne County deputies Garfield County Deputy‘s and Search And Rescue .

— Danny Perkins (@sheriffdperkins) June 10, 2022

 

On Friday afternoon the Utah Department of Public Safety provided video of the hoist operation that took place in order to rescue the youth group. 

On Friday morning the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office reported they were in the middle of a rescue operation involving 17 people in Sandthrax Canyon, a remote slot canyon described as a “mean canyon” by Garfield County officials.

 

The group is a Young Men’s group, affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Fifteen of the people are youth and two are leaders of the group. One of the leaders may have broken or sprained an ankle during the hike.

Garfield County Sheriff Danny Perkins said the group began hiking the area on Thursday morning. 

We are in the middle of rescuing 15 young man and two young men leaders in one of ours most treacherous slot canyons in Garfield County. The DPS helicopter is on scene along with deputies and rope rescue personnel.

— Danny Perkins (@sheriffdperkins) June 10, 2022

 

Officials said they were using a Department of Public Safety helicopter in the rescue, without which the rescue would take much longer.

Rope rescue personnel were also on the remote scene according to officials. The rescue began around 8 a.m. on Friday morning and officials expected everybody to be out of danger by noon on Friday.

 

 

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