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The Official Word  By Dean Cox Washington County Emergency Services Director   
Warmer and longer days, though, aren’t the only way I can tell spring has arrived in Dixie. My Search and Rescue pager starts acting just like a weekend alarm clock. Each weekend as of late, it starts buzzing and chirping just like the crickets and birds that also usher in the change of the season. Apparently, many of us in our haste to enjoy the almost limitless possibilities extended to us by our great outdoors fail to take adequate stock or prepare sufficiently before leaving on our weekend adventures. Unfortunately, each spring for several years, tragedy has struck, turning what was intended to be a great outing and adventure into a solemn, sober reminder of our mortality. While we are fortunate and blessed to have a cadre of extremely qualified and capable Search and Rescue volunteers in Washington County, all of our missions aren’t Search and Rescue (SAR). Too often, they become Search and Recovery missions instead. If it were not for the dedication, training and commitment of our SAR members, many more lives would be lost, oftentimes because of easily avoidable mistakes. Complicating our Search and Rescue response capability is our proximity to Utah and Nevada. Not very long ago, our police dispatchers received a desperate call from a motorist that wanted to shave some time from a planned trip to the Wasatch front area. This individual left the Las Vegas area and wanted to turn off on old 91 near Beaver Dam and take a short cut up through Enterprise. When he called in on his cell telephone, stuck in deep sand and lost, he did his best to describe his location. Being unfamiliar with our area only worsened his plight. For several days our volunteers combed the county. Neighboring Lincoln and Clark Counties were also notified of our search effort, and they joined in the search effort as well. After several days, a local aerial helicopter volunteer and one of our SAR leaders located the truck in neighboring Lincoln County. The victim’s truck was hopelessly stuck. His attempts to dig for water with sticks and rocks were pitiful reminders of his lack of forethought and preparation. Eventually, he decided to abandon his truck and attempt to walk to safety. That decision was apparently his last lapse of judgment. His body was never found by Nevada authorities. The sandy, never placid Virgin River was so named by Father Escalante as he explored our territory while seeking a route from New Mexico to California. Speculation has abounded that the good Father got the names switched on his original map when he named the slow-moving and benign river in Central Utah the “Sevier” and the muddy, fast-flowing river that courses through St. George, the “Virgin.” When it comes to danger, our river is no “Virgin,” having claimed numerous lives of the unsuspecting and under-prepared or unprepared. Each spring, a new crop of teenagers and young-adults discover the adventure of floating and exploring the Virgin. My son and his friends were no exception. My pleas and admonitions to avoid the river fell on deaf ears. Each trip down the river went a bit farther. Eventually, the boys did not return. Following a successful search, we were fortunate to find them shaken, but alive. After a harrowing experience with a capsized raft, rapids, and a whirlpool, all were able to eventually reach the edge of the water and safety. We do live in a great county. We have ample opportunity for hiking, water sports, and all sorts of motorized adventure. Before rushing out, however, take the time to prepare properly for your fun. What you don’t know certainly can hurt you!
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