Cochise County Search and Rescue personnel transport a patient in a Stokes litter across a flooded wash during a night operation near Benson. (Cochise County Sheriff's Office Search & Rescue)
BENSON, Ariz. - Heavy monsoon flooding and thick mud stranded a responding ambulance and cut off a rural home north of Benson on Saturday night, forcing search and rescue crews to wade through floodwaters to reach an unconscious elderly woman.
What we know:
The rescue operation unfolded around 8 p.m. on July 25 along Ocotillo Road, about five miles north of Benson, after monsoon storms transformed dusty desert roads into deep mud and caused a nearby wash to swell, leaving the house completely inaccessible to traditional emergency vehicles.
First responders were initially dispatched to help an unconscious elderly woman in an upstairs bedroom, but severe weather suddenly turned the response into a second emergency. Paramedics managed to navigate past a large wash near Milepost 4 on Ocotillo Road, but treacherous ground conditions near the driveway brought the crew to a sudden halt before they could reach the home.
What they're saying:
"There's an area that's thick with dust when it's not raining," David Noland, Search and Rescue Coordinator for the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office, told FOX 10. "It turned into mud and caused the ambulance to slide off the road and get stuck."
The team gathers for a photo under the light of emergency vehicles following a successful night rescue mission. (Cochise County Sheriff's Office Search & Rescue)
What started as a call for a swift-water rescue quickly shifted as the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue team headed out to help the stranded medics. By the time SAR crews arrived, the floodwaters crossing the road had subsided enough to allow rescuers to perform a shallow-water crossing on foot while carrying specialized equipment and a Stokes litter — a metal wire or plastic basket used to transport injured people across difficult terrain.
Dig deeper:
Rescuers navigated through the water and mud to reach the home, heading upstairs to evaluate the patient. Paramedics stabilized the woman, carefully loaded her into the basket and navigated her down the stairs and out the front door.
She was loaded into the back of a SAR truck accompanied by both SAR and ambulance paramedics. The team trudged back down Ocotillo Road to meet a second ambulance dispatched from Benson Hospital, which took over patient care and transported her for treatment.
What we don't know:
Noland said the senior's current medical condition remains unknown. However, he noted she does not live alone.
Map of the area where the rescue occurred:
The Source: Information in this report was gathered from Cochise County Sheriff's Office Search & Rescue.