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NY volunteers travel cross-country to help find missing child in Flagstaff

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NY volunteers travel cross-country to help find missing child in Flagstaff

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An 8-year-old boy from Baltimore was rescued in Flagstaff on Aug. 22 after being missing for over 12 hours in the Coconino County wilderness, thanks to the efforts of volunteer rescuers.

Dozens of volunteers from Chaverim of Rockland County, New York, collaborated with the Hatzolah Air Emergency Response Team, who traveled across the country to northern Arizona to assist the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office in the search for the boy.

“We were grateful for the assistance and cooperation from the Hatzolah Emergency Response Teams on this mission. They were professional and easy to work with,” said Sgt. Aaron Dick of Coconino County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue.

It began on the evening of Aug. 21, when the boy, traveling with his family through northern Arizona, went missing near the Lava River Cave northwest of Flagstaff.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, the family had been hiking in the cave when the boy wandered away from the entrance and into an unknown area of the wilderness. At the request of the boy’s mother, Chaverim of Rockland quickly agreed to send support, with Hatzolah arranging an overnight flight for volunteer rescuers just hours after the boy disappeared.

Members of Chaverim of Los Angeles and Arizona drove to northern Arizona to bring further resources.

The organizers notified the Sheriff’s Office of their impending arrival around 4 a.m. on Aug. 22, according to Dick.

Organized searchers

Volunteers trying to help can sometimes make a search and rescue operation effort more difficult due to eager but untrained personnel unequipped for such a mission, according to Dick.

“In this case they were organized searchers from Hatzolah and had the appropriate training, equipment, and communications capabilities in place to allow for integration into our operation,” Dick told The Republic.

Volunteers arrived in Arizona by 9 a.m. and immediately began assisting with search and rescue efforts, wrote Yossi Margaretten, coordinator of Chaverim of Rockland County.

Roughly two hours later, a group of 14 Chaverim volunteers heard the boy respond to their calls. They found him lying weak on the ground after spending a night in the forest, but overall, he was in good health, according to the news release.

“It was unbelievable the feeling that we had when we found him. … I can’t really fully describe it,” Margaretten said.

The boy had survived heavy rain and adverse weather overnight, according to rescuers.

On Wednesday, Rockland County District 13 Legislator Aron Wieder honored the New York-based volunteers that helped find the boy.

“Everyone’s prayers had been answered,” Wieder wrote in a news release.

Sgt. Dick noted that the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office received additional support from the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office, Flagstaff Police Department, FBI, and U.S. Marshals.

He also advised that anyone heading outdoors should pack essential items such as food, water, extra clothing, and tools to assist in rescue efforts, like a signal mirror or whistle. Families with children should have a plan in case a child gets lost, including teaching the Hug-A-Tree concept, which is often promoted by local law enforcement.

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