Flagstaff – According to the Coconino County Sheriff’s office a fifteen year old girl with Autism who walked away from a parked vehicle in the parking lot of the Lava River Caves on Saturday was located after a multi agency search effort was launched.
On Saturday Oct. 3, at about 2:00 p.m. Emergency Communications Specialists of the Northern Arizona Regional 911 Reception Center received a 911 call form the parents of a 15 year old Autistic girl who was missing in the area of the Lava River Caves located North West of Bellemont, AZ.
An investigation revealed that the family of five all from Flagstaff arrived in the parking lot of the Lava River Caves on Saturday, Oct. 3, at about 11:30 a.m. The victim decided not to hike in the caves and was taken back to the vehicle. The father waited at the mouth of the cave while the remaining family members hiked in the caves. They returned to their vehicle at about 1 p.m. to discover the 15 year old girl was missing. Family members spent a brief amount of time looking for the girl and then placed the 911 call.
Two Coconino County Sheriff’s Deputies provided the initial response. The Coconino County Search and Rescue Coordinator initiated a Search and Rescue call out and requested that an Arizona Department of Public Safety Air rescue Helicopter be sent to the area.
At approximately 4:00 p.m. a helicopter crew member spotted the girl from the air about three quarters of a mile South West of the parking lot where the family’s vehicle was located. Even though the girl was dehydrated, she did not require immediate medical attention. During the time she was missing her socks, shoes and sweat shirt.
Coconino County Sheriff’s Detectives are continuing this investigation.
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