u/K-Bot2017

From the Faceook page of the Kane County Sheriff's Office Search & Rescue:

"On Monday, July 6, 2026, at approximately 3 PM, Kane County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) Dispatch received a call regarding an overdue hiker in the Wave/Wire Pass area.

Earlier that morning, a group of hikers had traveled to The Wave. While hiking, the group became separated from a member of their party. When they returned to the trailhead, they had hoped he had arrived safely on his own. He had not, so they contacted KCSO dispatch.

KCSO deputies and Bureau of Land Management Rangers responded to the Wire Pass Trailhead to gather information from the group. Kane County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue (KCSAR) was activated to begin a search.

Intermountain Life Flight was initially requested to assist with an aerial search. The aerial search was later assumed by the Utah Department of Public Safety (DPS) Aero Bureau helicopter based in St. George.

Throughout the evening and into the night, KCSAR personnel conducted a ground search while the DPS helicopter searched from the air. Ground teams located the missing hiker’s tracks and followed them to the edge of Wire Pass slot canyon. The helicopter then conducted a search through Buckskin Gulch.

Approximately halfway between the confluence of Wire Pass and Buckskin Gulch Trailhead, the DPS flight crew located the missing hiker lying on slickrock above the slot canyon.

The flight crew found the man nonverbal and drifting in and out of consciousness. He was loaded into the helicopter and flown to a waiting ambulance at the Wire Pass Trailhead. Big Water Fire Department provided emergency medical care before the patient was transported by Intermountain Life Flight to a hospital for treatment of dehydration and other injuries.

The Kane County Sheriff’s Office is grateful for the outstanding cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management, Utah Dept of Public Safety Aero Bureau, Intermountain Life Flight, and Big Water Fire Dept. This coordinated effort resulted in the successful rescue of the missing hiker.

The outcome could easily have been different, and this incident serves as an important reminder for hikers to remain with their group, carry adequate water, and be prepared for the extreme conditions of the desert."

Two road construction projects are going on now on the Navajo Indian Reservation that could affect your travel time if driving from Monument Valley, Kayenta, or Tuba City.

The following restrictions will be in place on SR-98 between LeChee and Kaibeto from 6 am to 4 pm, Mondays through Thursdays, effective Tuesday, June 22, through Thursday, July 23:

• SR 98 will be intermittently narrowed to one lane of alternating east- and westbound travel between mileposts 311-331.
• Flaggers and a pilot car will guide drivers through the work zone.
• A 14-foot vehicle width restriction will be in place.

The Tuba City project is expected to run through early October. Work will take place from 5 am to 6 pm Mondays through Thursdays, and Fridays until noon on the multi-lane roadway sections east of Tuba City.

• US 160 will be reduced to one lane, alternating east- and westbound travel between mileposts 322-335.
• Flaggers and a pilot car will guide drivers through the work zone.

Please allow extra time to make the trip to Page, AZ, if traveling from these areas.