- Grand County Search and Rescue executed a technical rescue in Prichett Canyon Friday.
- An adult fell 80 feet, then tumbled 50 feet on slickrock terrain.
- The rescue, involving helicopters and technical gear, took nearly three hours.
MOAB — The Grand County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue team made a dramatic and very technical rescue of a person who fell approximately 80 feet and then tumbled an additional 50 feet.
Friday afternoon, a family of four rode motorcycles and a side-by-side into Prichett Canyon and stopped to walk around.
"The place they stopped is only about 5 miles, as the crow flies, from Moab, but this trail is so rough that driving here can take as long as three hours, one way," the search team posted on social media.
The group — two parents and two children — hiked to get a better look at Cummings Arch. But the family soon became separated into two groups, each consisting of one adult and one child.
"No one else in the group saw the fall, but one of the kids heard the screaming and rushed down the hiking route to alert the other parent that something had happened. The adult who fell was hurt badly. The other adult was able to summon help via the satellite function on their iPhone and sent a text to 911," search crews stated.
The injuries included "open fractures and possible internal injuries, a medical helicopter was also requested," rescuers stated. The helicopter landed within 150 yards of the victim. The helicopter crew described the area to ground crews as "steep and sloping terrain with a short section of vertical terrain; technical rope rescue assets would be needed to assist in this rescue," the search team stated. "The estimated distance of the fall was 70-80 feet, followed by a 50-foot bouncing tumble, all on slickrock. Many hands would be needed for this rescue."
Multiple helicopter trips were made to deploy the Grand County Search and Rescue Team members and their gear.
"Ropes, webbing, carabiners, anchoring bolts, and descent devices all had to be brought to the landing zone and carried to the scene. Holes were drilled into rock to construct an anchoring system needed to support the patient and rescuers," search crews stated.
Once the patient was secured, they were lowered to the floor of the wash and then carried to the landing zone and the waiting helicopter. The victim was flown to a hospital in critical condition, according to rescuers.
Additional information about the victim was not immediately available.
"From the time of the accident until the patient left the scene, the rescue operation took just under three hours," the search team stated. "This was a difficult rescue. Many modern tools were used to pull off this operation.
"Without the use of the helicopters, this rescue could have taken 10-12 hours — and that's if no trouble befell the rescuers traveling to and from the scene on the difficult Pritchett Canyon trail," the group continued. "Grand County Search and Rescue is so grateful to Intermountain Health, the Department of Public Safety, and especially to its talented and dedicated members who all came together to perform this difficult rescue."
