DPS helicopter crew rescues second elderly woman

Woman suffering from dehydration and exposure. (Source: AZ Dept. of Public Safety)

DPS rescue crews with elderly woman. (Source: AZ Dept. of Public Safety)

Rescue crews. (Source: AZ Dept. of Public Safety)

TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) - An Arizona Department of Public Safety Air Rescue crew has rescued two elderly women in the past week.

With assistance on the ground from the Mohave County Sheriff's Office, the 87-year-old woman was found near death on Tuesday, April 12, according to a DPS release. She was reported missing on Sunday, April 10 and found on Tuesday at 1 p.m.

This is the second rescue by DPS pilot Lowell Neshem in four days. He was also on the April 9 rescue of southern Arizona resident Ann Charon Rodgers, who survived nine days in the wilderness before she was rescued.

"This mission is a great example of the collaborative efforts of multiple agencies in which the successful outcome potential multiplies. Even though our helicopter crew made the final discovery, it may not have been without the incredible effort of the Mohave County search team that tracked this victim to a defined search area," said Terence Miyauchi, the Department's Aviation Manager. "Potentially we could have still been searching a vast wilderness area."

After getting her vehicle stuck in the mud on a remote road near Mud Mountain, in an area known as the Arizona Strip, the woman walked away from her car. The DPS crew, known as Ranger 42, flew to her last known point and "leapfrogged" ahead of ground crews. After ground crews determined that she had left the dirt road, an aerial "grid type" search was conducted.

The woman was eventually found 10 miles from her vehicle, according to the release. She was lying on the ground, motionless behind a bush. Crews located her as she moved an arm in an apparent attempt to get the helicopter crew's attention.

According to the paramedic on the helicopter crew she was suffering from dehydration, exposure to the elements and lack of food and water. She was flown to Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George, UT, for treatment.