Mother and son lost near Mingus Mountain while camping rescued

PRESCOTT, AZ - A mother and son lost on Mingus Mountain were found safe Monday by rescue teams.

Greg Cain reported that his 41-year-old wife, Amber and their 8-year-old son were missing, according to Dwight D’Evelyn spokesman for the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office.

The Cain family, visiting from Pennsylvania, was camping on Mingus Mountain, near Forest Road 413. Greg had reported that he had not seen his wife and son for about two hours at about 1 p.m. Monday.

Just after 5 p.m., a Department of Public Safety helicopter crew found the pair during a flyover, they were about a mile from their campsite, D’Evelyn said

According to a news release, the helicopter was unable to land because of the terrain so they had to report GPS coordinates to base camp staff to send a ground team to find the two and escort them to safety.

Search and rescue personnel learned that the mom and son had left the campsite without notifying anyone and did not carry a cell phone, food or water, according to the news release. According to D’Evelyn, the mother made the right decision by going to find open space and remain in place.

The search was stepped up due to a child being among the missing. Due the 7,400 foot elevation it was important the missing pair be found because temperature would drop dramatically after sunset.

YCSO suggests that if hiking or camping bring a cell phone because it could be a lifeline since most can provide GPS coordinates that can be transmitted to search teams.