By Roger Lanse
A Boy Scout troop from El Paso -- 16 boys, the youngest may have been 11-years-old, and nine adults -- were rescued Sunday, Oct. 9, 2022, from a location on the West Fork of the Gila River about three miles upstream from the Gila Cliff Dwellings Visitor Center. The rescue was activated the day before, Saturday, and started Sunday, at about 5:30 a.m. The party had left the Visitor Center the Saturday before, intending to hike to the White Creek Cabin and return a week later, Oct. 8, and were “fully equipped,” according to Laurie Wlosinski, a volunteer with the New Mexico State Police Search and Rescue.
The party became stranded when heavy rains made it impossible to ford the West Fork, and there were 15 more river crossings to go before reaching the Visitor Center, Wlosinski said. The last river crossing they attempted resulted in two of the party being swept downstream, but they made it to shore and no more attempts at crossing the river were made.
The parents who arrived on Saturday, the 8 to pick up their scouts, tried to walk up the West Fork to meet them but were blocked by high water. At mid-afternoon on Saturday, according to Wlosinski, the parents told Search and Rescue personnel they wished to “make it a mission,” and plans were started to affect the rescue. Low clouds however made it necessary to wait until Sunday morning when improving weather allowed the helicopters to fly.
The party was rescued by two helicopters, one from the New Mexico State Police and another from the military, and they were brought to the GCD parking lot. Wlosinski stated all were fine and have been reunited with their families.
Wlosinski emphasized anyone planning an outing in the GNF should check with local authorities about weather conditions before heading out. She also wanted to give “kudos” to the Campbells at the Campbell Store at Campbell’s Hot Springs, who stayed open late on Saturday, the 8th, to accommodate parents who were there to pick up their scouts and had to be delayed until Sunday, and lodging as well was provided at the Gila Hot Springs RV Park. “Anytime we have an incident such as this, the Campbells are there to help,” Wlosinski said.
UPDATE:
A National Guard helicopter from Las Cruces using infrared technology located the Boy Scout party of 16 scouts and 9 adults the late evening of Saturday, Oct. 8, but a low cloud ceiling did not allow for the rescue to take place at that time. The next morning, improving weather allowed two choppers, another National Guard helicopter from Las Cruces, plus a New Mexico State Police helicopter from Santa Fe, to make several trips to the West Fork site to transport the stranded hikers back to the Gila Cliff Dwellings parking lot.
Four of the hikers were on the other side of the river from the main group when all this started and were attempting to make their way across country to the cliff dwelling parking lot. These four were sighted by the rescuing helicopters and also airlifted out, along with two young adult female hikers who also were surprised by high water in the West Fork. A total of 27 hikers were airlifted to safety, according to Laurie Wlosinski, New Mexico State Police Search and Rescue volunteer.
Wlosinski told the Beat that other groups, not aforementioned, which offered assistance or were on standby at the site in case they were needed, were the Organ Mountain Technical Rescue and Mesilla Valley Search and Rescue from Las Cruces, Dona Ana County Search and Rescue, and employees from the National Park Service at the Cliff Dwellings. The U.S. Forest Service – Gila National Forest played a very helpful role, Wlosinski said, by immediately allowing the rescue to take place in the Wilderness Area using aircraft.