04.11.2024
Story by Mark Schauer
U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground
U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) Conservation Law Enforcement Officer Sgt. Gregory Harper is getting high praise from the La Paz County Sheriff Office (LCSO) for his recent assistance with a mine rescue.
For many harrowing hours, personnel from multiple law enforcement and government agencies responded to extract a woman stuck at the bottom of a 200-foot deep mine shaft.
According to social media posts from LCSO, the woman was ultimately rescued and transported to Yuma Regional Medical Center, where she was reportedly in stable condition.
“That was an interesting thing to be a part of, for sure,” said Harper.
Harper was helping a neighbor of his parents in Yuma while off-duty the afternoon of Sunday, April 7 when a LCSO Deputy he has had professional dealings with called. His agency had received a 911 call about the mishap in a mine located in an extremely remote area about a mile and a quarter outside of Yuma Proving Ground’s boundary. The YPG Police Department frequently lends a hand to law enforcement agencies in the surrounding area, and Harper was particularly intent to help given the treacherous topography of the area.
“When he briefed me what was going on and advised me how far out he was, I jumped in my truck and headed straight into work and got geared up,” Harper recalled. “Typically, because we know the range as well as we do we’ll assist even if it is our day off. We know a lot more of the risks out there and what routes you should and shouldn’t take—you could really compound the situation if you send in someone unfamiliar with the terrain.”
In the process of traversing the vast distance between Yuma and the remote area of La Paz County he called a wildlife officer from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that he has worked with. Both men had extensive knowledge of the rugged and roadless mountainous terrain in the vicinity and met up near the site, where they encountered a friend of the trapped woman who was seeking cell phone signal to check in with LCSO. She took both officers to the area where her friend had the mishap. Adding to the tension, the trapped woman’s two children were on the scene worried for her safety.
“The last thing that had been reported to me was that she had a broken ankle after falling off a ledge of seven feet and landing on something flat.”
To their dismay, Harper and his Fish and Wildlife colleague saw several mine shafts clustered close together, and there was some question as to which one the victim had originally gone down.
Worse, night was falling.
“Those mine shafts are so volatile: anything can collapse them,” said Harper.
The LCSO Deputy who called Harper for assistance had also called the U.S. Air Force’s Search and Rescue team to request pararescue jumpers located at Tucson’s Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, nearly 300 miles away. While the team was enroute in a pair of helicopters, Harper texted coordinates and photos of the area's topography to the Air Force personnel on board, assisting them in safely landing upon arrival.
“By this time, we hadn’t had communication with the subject who fell down the shaft in hours,” said Harper. “We didn’t know the air quality where she was located. It was nerve- wracking because we were trying to get things coordinated and start making decisions.”
Harper and his colleague positioned two pickup trucks for the paramedic jumpers to latch onto and begin their descent. By 11:00 PM they had reached the victim 200 feet down. She was alert and speaking to the rescuers, who began the methodical process of extracting her on a gurney.
“The Air Force paramedic jumpers were the heroes,” Harper said. “Those guys were so effective and worked together so well without any hesitation. The old saying is, ‘slow is smooth, smooth is fast’—these guys were the epitome of that.”
The woman was back on the surface, but still not out of danger. The terrain was too rugged and remote for a regular ambulance to access.
“I helped assist getting her in my patrol truck and stabilized by two medics in my vehicle. I then had to transport her to a separate side of the mountain where we could establish a landing zone for another helicopter.”
Harper was grateful the rescue was a success.
“Considering the circumstances, it all worked out. It took a little while, though.”
