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Searched Routes

Southern Ravines Map

Forecast Mormon Grove & Peeley

Crews looking for missing hiker
By Alexis Bechman

November 16, 2010
Tonto Rim Search and Rescue volunteers and Gila County Sheriff officers are currently searching for an overdue hiker.

The man, whose name has not been released, was last heard from nine days ago and is believed to be hiking near the Mt. Peeley trail or Sheep Mountain, off Forest Road 201, southwest of Payson.

The Gila County Sheriff’s Office first received a call that the man was overdue Monday, Nov. 15 about 9 p.m.

“The hiker has not been heard from since Nov. 7 and frequents the Mazatzal Mountain Wilderness area,” according to a press release from the sheriff’s office.

The missing hiker’s vehicle was located at the Mt. Peeley trailhead.



Six TRSAR volunteers are currently searching the ground. Earlier Tuesday, a Department of Public Safety Ranger helicopter did an aerial search of the area, but found no signs of the man

SUN_HIKER wrote:I'm sorry to say, this beanie found was definitely not one of Joe's. He did have a couple of beanies however they both were plain black. This particular one looks like the outside has a Camouflage pattern (well weathered though).

I suspect most likely belonged to a hunter.

Thanks to all who will continue to keep on the lookout for any clue to help find out what happened to Joe.

At least it was worth looking into as it could just as easily have been something of his.

Ansolutely!

Thank you again for keeping our gpsjoe in your heart and mind.

I'm glad people are still looking for clues out there. I was out at Upper Sheep Creek Spring yesterday and then read these posts after I got home. It would be a weird place to find a clue but animals could drag something anywhere, I guess. Keep your eyes open, folks.

I can't believe its coming up on a year since Joe's disappearance. I recently looked at all the routes searched and I am still amazed that not a single thread of evidence(except for his truck) has been found. I plan on searching a few areas that haven't been searched yet on Friday 11/11/11. A couple other guys will be searching the North side that day.

has anyone searched much into those northern drainages? that looks like a brutally tough area.. best of travels to you guys.

te-wa wrote:has anyone searched much into those northern drainages? that looks like a brutally tough area..

I've been trying to keep a file including all the search tracks and while there has been some searching there due, but nothing near what we'd like and that's solely due to the terrain that's definitely not easy to traverse.

I hope to get out there once or twice in the next couple weeks for another shot at it. Due to the area of interest to me, a 2-day backpack would give more daylight search time so I'm working on trying to put together two days off work in a row to do just that. The area I'd like to search is where birds were sighted circling on a number of occasions during the early days of the search.

The area is a roughly rectangular box as follows:
NW corner: N33.99301 W111.51059
NE corner: N33.99355 W111.50766
SW corner: N33.99051 W111.50806
SE corner: N33.99183 W111.50544

I hope to find out later today what my work schedule will be over the next few weeks. I'm expecting 2-3 weekdays of each week but not sure what days yet. If I have 11/11 off and since there will be others there, I may plan a long day of on-the-trail well before sunrise so the maximum amount of daylight can be used searching instead of just getting to the area.

te-wa wrote:has anyone searched much into those northern drainages? that looks like a brutally tough area.. best of travels to you guys.

From my experience....the south side is so much more brutal then the North side in terms of dense terrain...i.e bushwacking thru manzanita. The North is much easier to grab big chunks of terrain at a time... again depending on the specific area. But there is a lot of scrambling and some class 4 climbing depending on the route you take and area you are in. There are also a few rock slides on the north side.

I don't have two days off in a row next week but I do have Friday off so I'll be out there as well. As I mentioned earlier I'm hoping for a very early start followed by a long day of searching.

I just won't be looking forward to the weekend after due to working a closing shift Thursday night, a long day searching Friday followed with an opening shift Saturday... I'm sure I'll be dragging at work Saturday.

On this anniversary of my father’s disappearance (11/08), I want to communicate to you all just how much your ongoing support means to my family and me. As extremely hard as the past year has been, the outpouring of support , interest, dedicated searching , and awareness you all have demonstrated has been, and continues to be, remarkable.

Knowing that every remotely possible clue is being considered and discussed helps alleviate the feeling of helplessness that occasionally rears its head. The fact that many of you continue to trek into that wilderness for the purpose of searching is beyond belief and most appreciated. Your efforts continue to give us comfort.

Most of all, I want to say thank you and that I’m thankful my father was a part of your very special community.

Sincerely,
Christian Domin (GPSJOE’s son)

FR201 access status to Mount Peeley TH as of Tues-11/8/11:
Today, three of us in two 4WD vehicles successfully made the 9-10 mile snowy drive on FR201 to the Mount Peeley TH. Due to this previous weekend's unseasonable wet and colder weather, the snow level was down to 4600ft as of 8:30am today with anywhere from 1" to 5" of snow along the entire FR201 driving route. The last 2.5 mile drive in had a few small trees/bushes across the road that we successfully removed and this road section is where we encountered the 5" deep snow levels (north facing road/slopes). The Peeley TH at 5600ft had approximately 2-3" covering the entire area including the start of the main hiking trail in from the TH.

The FR201 drive-in time today was extended due to the need to drive at a slower speed and to be especially careful regarding slipping and sliding which all should already know who have driven this road, it could be fatal if one goes over the side. It was a beautiful day up there with the snow covered vegetation and surrounding snowy peaks. More good news is that the present FR201 snow cover is melting fast and at present there was no icy road segments that we encountered. With present forecasted daily temps on the rise for the balance of this week, and night temps hopefully above freezing, the main concerns for the rest of the week for access will be very muddy and continued wet road conditions with driving access strongly recommended to be 4WD vehicles only. Most likely some snow will continue to remain on some sections of the last 2.5 mile drive-in.

We did not have time at the TH today to verify trail conditions up or off of the Mazatzal Divide TR23, but based on the above noted snow level conditions at the Peeley TH, our best guess is that the area is going to be pretty soggy and wet for a while with possibly another unseasonably wet/cold weather pattern arriving this coming weekend.

We wanted to have this FR201 to Peeley TH drive status visible for those of you planning on GPSjoe continuing search efforts in the area for later this week/weekend.

11-8-2011
Here is some video of the road conditions via the drive: http://youtu.be/aenE9j-WX4c

Thank you for the wonderful video. I would have loved to join you all, however we are having a wedding in the family this weekend and out of town guests - preventing me from making it. It's amazing to see how quickly this road turns treacherous. This years weather is even worse than last years when Joe went missing.

It's been a tough week for everyone with this sad anniversary. Nov. 7th 2010 was the last email I received from Joe. Nov. 15th 2010 was the day we discovered he was missing. I think about him every day...
Thank you the wonderful hiking community for not giving up on the search!

Gabriele

The road still has quite a few spots with snow and ice in the last few miles...use caution if going there.

Trishness wrote:by Trishness » Jun 13 2011 11:48 pm
For anyone with pictures of GPS Joe on the trail and/or memories of trails shared please contact me at ptyrone@mchsi.com

I'm putting a little something together that will mean a lot to the family.

Thanks
Trish

Ref: GPS Joe Memory Book

Completed on 11/20/11 and mailed on 11/21/11 to Joe's family in care of his son, Christian Domin.
Narrative Summary: http://hikearizona.com/x.php?x=68513
Memory Book Pics Summary: http://hikearizona.com/photoset.php?ID=17709

Thank you Trish and all who contributed to this wonderful and forever tribute to our Joseph S. Domin (our gpsjoe).

That's a very special scrapbook that I'm sure Joe's family will treasure very much.

Just found an article about Joe and his family in the Beacon News, a subsidiary of the Chicago Sun-Times:

Beacon News wrote: Sadness of losing loved one harder during holiday gatherings

Last year, six weeks before Christmas, Theresa Domin got a call from her son that she says she’ll never forget. His dad, her ex-husband, was missing. Joseph Domin, who was 69 at the time of his disappearance, had gone for a hike in the mountains in Arizona, taking enough provisions for a day. He had not been heard from for a week.

“He (said) he was going to achieve the summit,” said Theresa, who lives in Oswego. “He was never heard from again.”

Theresa’s son flew from Chicago to Arizona to aid in the search. And, while hikers, dogs, Native American groups, county sheriffs with helicopters and former military personnel all searched the trails through the tortuous mountains in Payson, Ariz., Theresa could not leave her phone.

“I’d take it in the shower,” Theresa said. “I was desperate. I was online day and night. The phone would ring. I would jump. Every time somebody would search, my hopes would go up and then...

Read more... http://beaconnews.suntimes.com/lifestyl ... rings.html

@azdesertfather
Thanks for posting that. It certainly puts you through a range of emotions.... Not having closure can be such a difficult thing.....

That area gets a good number of deer, elk, and bear hunters each year. They should have their GPS routes incorporated into the official search map.

Also, a financial reward for the discovery of GPS Joe would inspire more folks to join the hunt. Some of the best bushwhackers in the state are of the working class, men with hard hands, but of little means. I bet they would forsake a few fishing trips to help out in the search. You would get more people out there looking, and incorporate some new talent and skill sets into the hunt. Just my two cents....

Outlander wrote:That area gets a good number of deer, elk, and bear hunters each year. They should have their GPS routes incorporated into the official search map.

Also, a financial reward for the discovery of GPS Joe would inspire more folks to join the hunt. Some of the best bushwhackers in the state are of the working class, men with hard hands, but of little means. I bet they would forsake a few fishing trips to help out in the search. You would get more people out there looking, and incorporate some new talent and skill sets into the hunt. Just my two cents....

I'd like to hear from the Search and Rescue folks on this idea.

Search for $$$ as opposed to closure for the families?
#1 It would probably bring out the inexperienced risk takers and increase the need for more searches.
#2 They would also not necessarily have the outdoor ethics and leave the wilderness trashed like our southern border. :yuck:
#3 However I could use the reward to pay for the required training, certifications and other costs of having been a SAR nut.