PCSO Search and Rescue debriefing the three hikers after being led to safety.

FLORENCE, Ariz. – Three missing hikers have been located and led to safety after being lost for nearly six hours in the Superstition Mountains.

PCSO Search & Rescue Leads Three Missing Hikers to Safety

On 12-27-2012, a family of three from New York consisting of a 64-year-old male, his 51-year-old wife and their 21-year-old daughter departed from the Peralta Trailhead around 12:00 p.m. in hopes of hiking the Bluff Springs Trail.

Seven miles into the 10 mile hike, the family took a wrong turn and ended up in a canyon two miles off trail.

After several failed attempts to determine their location, the 51-year-old female used a cell phone to call for help.

She reported the group was lost and running low on water; all three did not have sufficient clothing for overnight temperatures.

Using the cell phone signal, Search and Rescue triangulated the missing group’s position and sent two teams out to locate the family.

After approximately two hours, Search and Rescue located the family and provided them with water and additional clothing to hike out.

By 10:15 p.m., S&R teams successfully led the family to safety who informed rescuers this was the first time they attempted to hike Bluff Springs Trail. None of the missing hikers required medical treatment.

PCSO Search & Rescue Sergeant Brian Messing stated, “This call is the fourth time PCSO Search and Rescue teams have been called out in less than two weeks to the Superstition Mountains. This family did the right thing by calling for help and stayed in one location. Before hiking a place like the Superstitions, we recommend bringing at least one person who knows the area, make sure you tell someone where you’re going and when you plan to return, bring plenty of water, pack extra layers of clothing and take a cell phone.”