By: NP Staff | The Navajo Post | May 5.

On April 30, the day turned daunting for one cyclist, when Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office dispatchers received an urgent 911 call from a bicyclist who was lost in an area near Schuerman Mountain, Sedona.

The caller, identified as 41-year-old Phu Tran from Washington, had been riding since 1030 AM that morning, when he ran into a debacle and was unable to find his way back to the main roads to meet with his family, not only that, but he ran out of water.

Deputy Forest Patrol and the Rescue 1 helicopter were already in the general vicinity when they received the call of the lost cyclist. Rescue 1 then picked up a Forest Patrol supervisor to assist as an observer. That is when they located Tran.

Rescue 1 was able to land nearby allowing the Forest Patrol supervisor to hike to Tran’s location just after 5 PM. Tran was then escorted over a half a mile and two creek crossings by the supervisor to an awaiting YCSO patrol vehicle.

Yavapai County officials say, a deputy then drove Tran to meet his family “We were very grateful for the quick actions of YCSO deputies and the helicopter pilot.”

Expert say, some critical factors that aided in the rescue, was Tran’s decision to call quickly once he realized he was lost, along with his decision to remain stationary and allow rescue personnel to locate him. GPS coordinates provided by Tran’s cell phone also aided in the search.

Yavapai’s Rescue 1 has already proved an invaluable tool in locating lost/stranded/injured victim’s in wilderness area around Yavapai County. In this case, time was a factor as any further delays could have forced the search beyond sundown.