"Lost" hiker found in Catalinas

[JimmyLyding]

I bet this kid was taking magic mushrooms, and didn't want to tell mom and dad. Lots of mistakes here...

From todays' Tucson Citizen:

<<November 13, 2008, 8:42 p.m.
DAVID L. TEIBEL and SHERYL KORNMAN
Tucson Citizen
A University of Arizona student reported missing on a hike by a friend since Monday was found unharmed, camping in Catalina State Park, a sheriff's spokeswoman said.

Searchers found Alexander Wanamaker, 22, at noon Thursday, Deputy Dawn Barkman said.

"What I really want to do is thank God my son is back," Peter Wanamaker, his father, said.

"He's resting right now at his cousin's house - it was closer. He's asleep. He needs some rest."

It turned out that Wanamaker was on a camping trip and there may have been some miscommunication with his family and a friend.

"We didn't know the period of time he was intending to go," Peter Wanamaker said. "He didn't have much camping gear. He knows what he's doing. There was a lack of communication.

"We'd like to thank everybody for their help: all the searchers, all the people who prayed for him. We're very happy to have him back. Our heartfelt thanks to everyone."

Barkman said searchers looked for Wanamaker beginning at 2 p.m. Tuesday and again on Wednesday. About a dozen searchers resumed the hunt for Wanamaker Thursday morning between 8:30 and 9.

She said the man was found by searchers calling out for him near the Montrose Canyon area.

"On Tuesday, he apparently went up to the Romero Pools area and then to Romero Pass before returning to the 3,200-foot level near the Montrose Canyon area," she said.

"He was drinking stream water and did not have food to sustain him for very long - apparently his choice," Barkman said in a news release.

The young man raised concerns when he didn't return from what others presumed was a Monday hike.

His father said, "He had never gone missing before. This isn't like him."

A friend who dropped Wanamaker off about noon Monday at the Romero trail head at the park in Oro Valley said he wasn't prepared for inclement weather, Barkman said.

Temperatures in the area where he hiked hovered in the mid- to high 30s this week, said Mic Sherwood, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Tucson. Wednesday's overnight low was 34 degrees.

"He's an experienced hiker, he's very athletic, but he was not prepared or even carrying any supplies to keep from the cold at night," his father said Wednesday.

On Wednesday and Thursday, searchers included sheriff's deputies, and members of the Sheriff's Mounted Posse, the Southern Arizona Search and Rescue Association, and Southwest Rescue Dogs.

Barkman said Wanamaker hiked out of the area.>>

[JoelHazelton]

My guess is he's failing at U of A right now, hasn't quite admitted it to his parents, and didn't feel like returning to real life quite yet after being out there, so he stayed the night. Knew it would be even worse when he returned the next day so he stayed even longer to prolong the inevitable dose of reality and parents that he's been avoiding because of his grades.

Just a guess. Maybe he was just shrooming. ;)

[chumley]

Seriously. Three days? Its not like this is in the middle of nowhere. How long would it take to hike to the nearest road from there? Sounds to me like he wanted to be "lost".

[Jeffshadows]

Seriously. Three days? Its not like this is in the middle of nowhere. How long would it take to hike to the nearest road from there? Sounds to me like he wanted to be "lost".

He did. He was thirty minutes from help the whole time, an hour at most. One of my buddies from SARA said the kid was a real jerk to them, too...

[JoelHazelton]

Nothing says he was lost. Like his dad said, it was bad communication. Sounds like he chose to be out there.

[chumley]

"He didn't have much camping gear. He knows what he's doing. There was a lack of communication.

These three sentences mark three points on a contradictory triangle.

[Jeffshadows]

Seriously. Three days? Its not like this is in the middle of nowhere. How long would it take to hike to the nearest road from there? Sounds to me like he wanted to be "lost".

He did. He was thirty minutes from help the whole time, an hour at most. One of my buddies from SARA said the kid was a real jerk to them, too...

They had a similar call-out in Sabino a few days ago that didn't make the papers. Same kind of stuff...

[JimmyLyding]

I believe the one in Sabino was a lady who fell & hurt herself. I read it in the Citizen (I think, maybe the Daily Star) today.
We're getting ready to see a lot of injuries on Squaw Peak and Camelback Mtn. 'Tis the season!