57 rescued across Sedona’s red rocks; March is the busiest month
The Verde Search and Rescue Posse had 80 missions in 2025, rescuing 57 people across the red rocks of Yavapai County.
The volunteer auxiliary of the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office worked 69 of those calls and handled everything from nine technical rope rescues, two evidence searches, a fire evacuation, 13 4×4 requests, 10 K-9 requests, 12 drone requests and eight mountain bike requests, with 11 stand-downs where subjects self-rescued before teams made contact.
“We have a full complement of 37 people right now, and we’ve been training and we’re ready to help those that are lost out there,” VSAR Capt. Dondi West said, heading into the Spring Break visitor rush. “What I’m getting right now is a lot of members volunteering to go on these call outs, so we have a lot of readiness right now and a lot of eager people to help.
“Once you decide that this is that volunteer job for you, we just have a phenomenal amount of people ready to go.”
The 80 missions in 2025 were consistent with recent years. The posse averaged roughly 83 calls annually over the previous three years, however it is well below the all-time high of 106 in 2020 and more than double the 38 calls logged in 2010.
Lost hikers account for the largest share of 2025 missions with 26 missions, followed by stranded/ stuck hikers and vehicles with 11 missions.
West said the majority of call outs involve visitors caught off guard by the terrain and conditions.
“Usually it’s our visitors,” West said is who makes up VSAR’s call volume. “They don’t plan for the change in weather and the change in darkness. They don’t load a trail map.”
March was the busiest month with 11 missions, closely followed by August with 10 and both November and June each had eight each. January 2025 was quiet with a lone recorded call out
West Sedona led 2025 incidents with 31 missions, followed by Devils Bridge and Dry Creek with 15, Bell Rock with seven Turkey Creek and Bull Pen/Clear Creek each with four and Cathedral Rock with three.
The preventative search and rescue partnership with Friends of the Forest, which stations volunteers at the Dry Creek and Bell Trail trailheads during busy summer periods to educate hikers before they head out, West cited as a tool to reduce its summer call outs.
“When Friends of the Forest is at the trailhead on those busy days during that hot summer period and they educate people as they’re getting out of their cars in the parking lot, that makes a difference,” West said. “We see in the summer our call log comes down.”
In total, VSAR volunteers logged 6,039 hours with 52,835 total miles covered by its members.
“Ninety percent of what we do is hiking,” West said. “So that is what we’re always looking for — that strong hiker who’s available to go out on a whim and help search for people.
“You make a difference by going out. Just because somebody made an error doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be there to help them out and get them back.”
As of the middle of the month, VSAR has had call outs on March 8, with a team of 11 volunteers dispatched to locate a female hiker visiting from the Midwest who set out to locate Fay Arch after hiking Devil’s Bridge the day before. The team was in the field for five hours on the call and she was located in good health with no injuries. On March 9, VSAR had a brief call out to Cathedral Rock after a hiker was separated from their group, but “self-rescued” and located the group.
“I’ve been here for five years and I’ve never been out to Fay for a call out, so that was a surprise for us,” West said.
On March 13, VSAR responded to Key Hole Cave after a female hiker became stranded inside and found the descent far more difficult than the climb up.
“A couple visiting set out to find the cave. The male half stayed below as the female climbed into the cave. It is harder to descend,” according to the mission log. “There is 8’-10’ of steep rock with hand holds, but it is a committed scramble. VSAR had 10 members arrive. A hasty team started and a secondary team followed. The hasty team had a member scramble up and set a safety line. Two additional members climbed up with the line. A safety line was used to belay the stuck hiker. She chose to climb down on her own with the line secured to her in a hasty harness. All members hiked back. The elevation from the top ledge in the cave to the safe area below is approximately 35’-40’ altogether. Only about 8’ is a serious scramble or climb.”
Most recently, VSAR had a six-hour rope rescue of a climber stranded on Chimney Rock on March 15.
“The climber’s rope became stuck while she was attempting to belay down, leaving her suspended and unable to move,” YCSO posted to social media on Tuesday, March 17. “VSAR and Backcountry Unit teams deployed complex rope systems to reach her.
“The climber was safely lowered to the ground. While a rescue helicopter was on standby.”
West said the financial side of VSAR is sound for 2026, and that the group does not currently any major capital expenditures it needs to make and is focusing on the operational side of its costs.
“We’ve been taken care of very well, especially by our local giving organizations so now we’re looking to keep our training up to par,” West said. “We have area search dogs, crime scene search dogs and we have the human remains dogs. We’re always trying to keep them outfitted. Their GPSs expire in a couple of years, and we have to keep them trained constantly. They have special certifications they have to maintain, so we have to have constant financial support to keep them up and running.”
VSAR meetings are held from January through November on the second Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. at SFD Station 3 at 125 Slide Rock Road in the Village of Oak Creek. For more information, visit verdesar.org or contact verdesarposse@gmail.com (928) 771-3281.
BY THE NUMBERS: 2025 Verde Search and Rescue Posse
80 total missions 57 people rescued 69 active call outs; 11 stand downs (subjects self-rescued) 37 volunteers on the roster 6,039 volunteer hours logged 52,835 miles covered
Mission types: 26 lost hiker missions (largest single category) 13 4×4 requests 12 drone requests 11 stranded/stuck hiker and vehicle calls 10 K-9 requests 9 technical rope rescues 8 mountain bike requests 2 evidence searches 1 fire evacuation
11 missions in March — busiest month of 2025 31 incidents in West Sedona — most of any area
For context: 83 average annual calls over previous three years 106 all-time mission high, set in 2020 38 calls logged in 2010 — less than half today’s volume
