HikeArizona.COM

Hike Arizona urges anyone interested in searching to post or join an event.

If you go out, please track your hike on a GPS and post it for the benefit of future searches. Simply post it upon return. (if you need help ask the webmaster) Hike Arizona will see that it gets linked to a master map. If you have multiple variations in your group, please post all tracks. As more info is posted the map will evolve and the overlaps will be removed.

Searched Routes

Southern Ravines Map

Forecast Mormon Grove & Peeley

Crews looking for missing hiker
By Alexis Bechman

November 16, 2010
Tonto Rim Search and Rescue volunteers and Gila County Sheriff officers are currently searching for an overdue hiker.

The man, whose name has not been released, was last heard from nine days ago and is believed to be hiking near the Mt. Peeley trail or Sheep Mountain, off Forest Road 201, southwest of Payson.

The Gila County Sheriff’s Office first received a call that the man was overdue Monday, Nov. 15 about 9 p.m.

“The hiker has not been heard from since Nov. 7 and frequents the Mazatzal Mountain Wilderness area,” according to a press release from the sheriff’s office.

The missing hiker’s vehicle was located at the Mt. Peeley trailhead.



Six TRSAR volunteers are currently searching the ground. Earlier Tuesday, a Department of Public Safety Ranger helicopter did an aerial search of the area, but found no signs of the man

@big_load
No, you did not miss anything. Ms. Saint-James has obviously not been correctly informed.

You would hope if this information was known clear back in May, that it has been investigated by now? Any way of finding that out???

@big_load
There are quite a few discrepancies in that article and it is very biased.

We all saw the news about a SAR group getting a drone, I wonder what it would take to get a few days of time with that in the area, and how effective it might be. The regrowth there is coming on fast, it won't be long until it's as covered over as before the fire.

Hello all, just so I don't seem to be posting out of the blue (which I am) I'll give a small intro of myself. I am a long time user of HAZ while I lived in AZ. I happen to move out of state about the time GPS Joe went missing. I have been very interested in this thread and still check it from time to time for updates. I've always wished I could be back in AZ helping with the search effort but since I can't I sometimes scan google earth for clues. I happened to be "looking" today along the ridge line from Mt. Peeley to Sheep Mt. (Admittedly I never hiked that area so I'm not very familiar with different locations so I could be looking in completely the wrong spot) and something caught my eye. I'm not an image analyst and I'm guessing I'm either seeing things or it's just how the image looks on my screen but I thought I would post it here to gather additional opinions. I see what looks to me like writing in the dirt inside the red box. One pic is a zoomed in and the other is slightly zoomed out. Sorry if I'm over stepping my bounds with this.

Roadtorque wrote:something caught my eye. I'm not an image analyst and I'm guessing I'm either seeing things or it's just how the image looks on my screen but I though I would post it here to gather additional opinions. I see what looks to me like writing in the dirt inside the red box. One pic is a zoomed in and the other is slightly zoomed out.

@Roadtorque
We welcome and thank you for your continued GPSjoe search interest, long distance search efforts, and this information post.

@Roadtorque Do you have a latitude and longitude on that?

kingsnake wrote:Do you have a latitude and longitude on that?

The Lat/Long & Altitude are at the bottom of the photos so they should be pretty close to the location.

I'm sorry, but I don't see a thing.

Yes, the GPS coordinates are at the bottom of the pics or I would have posted them. Thank you for informing me they didn't show up. In degree, minute, second format they are as follow.
33 59'46.55" N
111 29"48.26" W

Take a look, the ridge line runs North/South (more or less). Look at the east facing slope from the east. Just, below the ridge line. I see lettering, in the dirt. It's probably nothing more than my mind wanting to see something but just in case...

@azbackpackr
Thanks for looking. I've heard images on google earth can have oddities in the satellite pic based on how the program interacts with the computer your using. I figured it was better to be safe than sorry.

@Roadtorque
Thanks for posting. A teacher once said the only dumb question is the one unasked(which I somewhat agree with). I've also searched via google earth and saw oddities that I would later search in the field. I and others have looked thru binoculars,camera lens, and a telescope and thought we saw things and had the others double check. Although I don't think there are anything in those pictures, thanks for taking the time to search via GE and more importantly to post here about it. Keep doing that and thanks again.

Sorry, not sure how I missed the coordinates.

Anybody know where the GPSJoe link on the bottom of the home page went? You now, the one that led to the map with all the searched rouutes ...

Roadtorque wrote:@azbackpackr
Thanks for looking. I've heard images on google earth can have oddities in the satellite pic based on how the program interacts with the computer your using. I figured it was better to be safe than sorry.

Yes, it did cross my mind that it's my laptop, maybe resolution not as good as some other models. I do not think you wasted your time posting this, as others have pointed out, it could be something.

I just looked at the area in question on GE using pre-Sunflower Fire imagery dated 6/24/2011. This older image has better color and contrast. The feature appears to be a rock outcropping.

kingsnake wrote:where the GPSJoe link on the bottom of the home page went? You now, the one that led to the map with all the searched routes ...

The links to the "Searched Routes and Southern Ravines" maps reference were moved to the lower section of the very first page/post.

Oregon Hiker wrote: The feature appears to be a rock outcropping.

That's how it looked to me, too.

@Roadtorque Same location, from Haz MapDex, but slightly different perspective:
As you can see, the ground has been over by just about every searcher ( http://hikearizona.com/map.php?QX=739 ). Still it was worth mentioning, every bit of info helps.

Thanks for the help. I'll keep looking for other clues and post if I find something of interest. I sure hope this gets resolved.

Hank asked that whenever anyone goes out searching to post your triplog in this thread.

http://hikearizona.com/trip=100735