10/11/2009 10:42:00 PM Jeremy Cox - Anatomy of a man's time lost and found
Bruce Colbert/The Daily Courier
Jeremy Cox of Prescott calls his long-time girlfriend, Naomi Lyons, on Sunday to tell her that doctors are releasing him from Yavapai Regional Medical Center. Cox disappeared Oct. 3 and searchers found him Wednesday with a shattered ankle about seven miles west of Skull Valley near Martin Mountain.
PRESCOTT - Animals on a ridgeline and a missing pair of binoculars caused Jeremy Cox of Prescott to spend four cold nights and four hot days stranded with a shattered right ankle in a remote section of country west of Skull Valley.
"We forget how easy it is for something to happen. I just happened to be prepared," he said Sunday shortly before doctors released him from Yavapai Regional Medical Center.
Cox rode out of Prescott on a motorcycle about 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, to scout hunting unit 17B, which borders the towns of Prescott, Kirkland, Bagdad and Camp Wood. He would be hunting there soon, and wanted to look for deer sign, check water tanks and illegally locked gates.
He told his long-time girlfriend, Naomi Lyons, that he would be home a couple of hours after dark. Sunday morning, she reported him missing to the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office, which launched a massive ground and air search for him. Unit 17B is an extremely rugged and remote area of the county.
Cox grew up in Hootenanny Holler at the north end of Williamson Valley. He was familiar with Arizona's backcountry and the country around Unit 17B. This would be his fourth scouting trip in the area this year since he drew a deer hunting tag.
"This was going to be a short trip, it wasn't my first trip in the area, but it was the first time this far back," he said Sunday from the hospital.
That Saturday afternoon, he left Bagdad Road and turned onto an un-named dirt trail toward the mesas at the base of Martin Mountain. He rode up one mesa, checked on a water tank and rode back down.
On the way down, he stopped when he saw animals on a nearby ridgeline. That is when he discovered he lost his binoculars. Disaster struck when he turned and rode back uphill to look for the binoculars.
"Suddenly the bike pitched sideways and I landed on my right side. I didn't have time to jump off," Cox said. "I looked down and saw my right foot and it wasn't looking grotesquely distorted, but it wasn't going the same angle as my knee was."
He "cursed up a storm and realized this was not great and it hurt a lot."
By 10 p.m. he figured he was there for the night. He snuggled next to his motorcycle for a windbreak. The Weather Service recorded winds as strong as 50 mph in Yavapai County for the weekend of Oct. 3-4.
Sunday
At 9:30 a.m. he heard a helicopter flying overhead.
"I'm thinking, 'That's great, I'll be home in time to go to some friends' house for dinner," he said. The helicopter flew toward him and then veered north toward the mountaintop.
At 11:30 a.m. he heard another helicopter.
"It came down the canyon skimming across Bismarck Mesa. I flashed them with my mirror, but for whatever reason that didn't work and it flew off," Cox said.
He cut two catclaw stalks for walking canes. "Then, I could move around without having to crawl on my hands and knees." He used rabbit brush cuttings to build a small signal fire.
Early evening he grabbed his plastic water bottles, food and clothing and backtracked uphill to the steel water tank where he earlier had dropped his binoculars.
"I needed to get up to the steel tank before dark so I could splint my leg" he said. He cut two tree branches for splints and secured them to his leg with wire from a fence gate.
"I was exhausted by the time I got to the steel tank, but that was my first project once I got there," he said. He fashioned a crutch from a fence post.
"At one point I woke during the night. It was cold and I needed something to do so I made an S-O-S out of rocks."
Searchers never saw the 8-foot long rock letters.
Monday
Jeremy moved downhill to a corral and cattle water tank. He was napping in the shade of the water tank when he heard a helicopter fly overhead.
"The helicopter came over the hill and it was close enough that I could see the search and rescue markings," he said. "I'm standing up in the middle of a corral, waving my arms and hat, and I'm thinking, 'Great.' Then he flew over the mountain.
"Now I'm thinking, 'Not great.' I had enough water to last me until Monday night."
Twenty minutes later, the helicopter came back.
"If he had flown a tighter circle he would have seen the motorcycle, and if he had flown slightly higher, he might have seen the motorcycle."
The problem with Cox's location is that the corral and water tank are located in a low area shielded by surrounding ridges, which made it difficult for pilots to see from the air.
He filled his water bottles for the night and filtered them through his ball cap.
Tuesday
"I was emotionally holding it together with the physical pain, and getting around OK with my crutch and cane," he said.
He hobbled to the top of a berm surrounding the corral and discovered a 5-foot-long household water heater that someone cut in half lengthwise for a cattle trough. He used the modified water heater for shade during the day and for shelter during the night.
Wednesday
Enough is enough, he decided. Cox managed the one-quarter mile to his fallen motorcycle and decided that if he did not have contact with a search team by 3 p.m., he would light an unmistakable signal fire.
"About 12:30 p.m. I heard a rattling and beep and I stood up and saw this Jeep come over the hill," he said. Tracker Kris Coay followed Cox' motorcycle tracks that sheriff's searchers had discovered Tuesday afternoon.
"I knew I would survive, because I was prepared and Naomi knew I was missing and would notify people," Cox said. "But I am humbled by how many people spent the time looking for me."
Cox said he is thinking about wearing different riding boots, buying a cell phone or a Spotfinder satellite tracker.
A deputy asked Cox' girlfriend what made her think that he did not just leave her.
"Are you a Western man?" she asked. "Because he left his cash here."
Posted: Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Article comment by:
No name provided
PARKER spoken like a true liberal wus. WHINER, is that not exactly what you are doing? this is why the country is so screwed up, because no has the guts to stand up and expose the obvious, and that there is no such thing as shame anymore.
Posted: Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Article comment by:
Whiners go Home
Right on Parker! I am sick and tired of the moaning,complaining and judging displayed by these people. They should be ashamed of themselves.
Posted: Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Article comment by:
Parker Anderson
Someday, all of you self-appointed judges will be judged yourselves. And you will know Who is doing it; it won't come from the dark cloak of anonymity.
Posted: Monday, October 12, 2009
Article comment by:
No name provided
Tired, you are totally right you are NOT an expert. I'll bet a months pay he did NOT have motorcycle boots on.
Posted: Monday, October 12, 2009
Article comment by:
No name provided
SERIOUSLY, I have ridden 70 miles in Mexico with a broken back. L1 L2 L3, broken. I've ridden with a right arm broken in 2 places 87 miles. I put the throttle on the other side and rode to the next check point. I've ridden with a compound fracture of my right leg for about 18 miles. So don't tell me it can't be done. Like I said before some people have the pain threshold of a nat. I had a pro license, I didn't crash often but when I did it was a good one. I have numerous friends who have done the same thing. One friend tore the artery on his intestine, and nearly bled to death internally. If he hadn't gotten up and ridden out, about 34 miles, he would be dead. SO YOU OBVIOUSLY DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT!!! OBVIOUSLY!!! I guess there are a lot of wuss'es out there that would just lie there and die. Not me!!! In Vietnam I have seen men with arms missing and hands and feet missing walk to a landing zone to save their lives. As for Carol, you have to be kidding about teaching survival school.
Posted: Monday, October 12, 2009
Article comment by:
tired
You know I'm no expert but I can tell you accidents do happen. What boneheads you folks are that think they don't! Mr. Cox did a great job, and whatever experience he had saved his life. You worry about tax dollars to save this one person, so what, this county wastes tax dollars every day. And the people that get paid by those tax dollars that found him, AWESOME JOB!!
Posted: Monday, October 12, 2009
Article comment by:
Seriously???
To "Thousands" and "Owen": You two are obviously NOT from around here. 1st, to Thousands: there are lots of areas that are not covered by cell phone service and Skull Valley is one of them. A phone would not have helped. He was not being foolish to scout on his motorcycle. He had an ACCIDENT. Many searches come about by people being stupid but this wasnt one of them. Now...on to Owen. Read the article. He was on a ROAD that went to a steel water tank, not on a TRAIL! Get off your high horse and save your agenda for the proper forum. As far as getting on the bike and riding out...you obviously have never tried to ride a bike on a rough road with a shattered ankle. I am sure that if that had been an option he would have done it. Seriously people, get a clue! So glad Mr. Cox was prepared and kept his head so this didnt end with a funeral.
Posted: Monday, October 12, 2009
Article comment by:
No name provided
Seems to me that he should not have been concerned about "illegally locked gates." Ranchers lock gates to keep them from being left open by inconsiderate hunters. And to keep people off of private property. I am glad he was found and is safe, but the purpose of his journey is, in my opinion, unnecessary . If he knows the area like he says, he did not need to "scout" but just go hunt.
Posted: Monday, October 12, 2009
Article comment by:
Amateur Radio operator (HAM)
I wonder will Mr. Cox go out for a "bike" ride alone again or has he learned his lesson. How about it people, do you understand not to go out alone. Please, take a friend, not a cell phone.
Posted: Monday, October 12, 2009
Article comment by:
No name provided
Having lived in the Skull Valley area recently, it should be known that there is no cell service there. So a phone would not have helped this determined man.
Posted: Monday, October 12, 2009
Article comment by:
Larry
Kudos to all who helped find Jeremy. And kudos to Jeremy for keeping his head and surviving this adventure !
Posted: Monday, October 12, 2009
Article comment by:
Larry
When I ride alone, I give my wife my proposed route and take my SPOT gps locator with the 911 button. Also it is capable of sending an okay message, even if there is no cell phone coverage in the area.
Posted: Monday, October 12, 2009
Article comment by:
YCSRT K-9's
Why wasn't the YCSRT K-9 units used ? They may have been quicker to find
Jermey. Can someone expalin.
Posted: Monday, October 12, 2009
Article comment by:
No name provided
Enough about this guy. He did a foolish thing. According to the account in the paper he did everything but what he should have done. GET BACK ON HIS BIKE AND RIDE OUT!!!!!!!
Posted: Monday, October 12, 2009
Article comment by:
Met
It not like some grandma in Sedona wandering off for a hike at 4PM in crocs.
He had an accident, a real one, and that is what search and rescue is for.
Posted: Monday, October 12, 2009
Article comment by:
owen
some one should see if he was on a designated, numbered road.it is law that you only travel on these designated trails if he was not he should be sited for this and prosecuted. it sounds to me like he isnt a heoro but a law breaker who got hurt while doing some thing he shouldnt have been doing.
Posted: Monday, October 12, 2009
Article comment by:
Job well done!
THOUSANDS, As my old friend Bugs sez, "whada maroon..."
Kudos to Jeremy for making it out alive. Thanks to the men and women of the PNF, YCSRT and YCJP, most who are volunteers.
Thousands of Dollars: I hope you are never in need of ANY assistance by rescue workers, ever..it's expensive right! So glad this all ended with him making it out okay! Thankyou to all who were persistent in finding him!
Posted: Monday, October 12, 2009
Article comment by:
No name provided
At Least He Is Safe...And Alive...Thats What These Guys Are Trained To Do....What Does It Matter About The Money?
Posted: Monday, October 12, 2009
Article comment by:
Carol
Wow what a story and great ending. He should teach survival lessons. Pure survival techniques kicked in boy. I am happy you are okay.
Posted: Monday, October 12, 2009
Article comment by:
THOUSANDS of DOLLARS I bet...
One can't but wonder what it cost the county to rescue this self-proclaimed 'prepared' but ultimately foolish scout on his little motorcycle, alone, without a phone, in the wilderness?
