Tag Archives: Oak Creek Canyon

Upcoming traffic restrictions on State Route 89a in Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon

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SEDONA — The Arizona Department of Transportation is advising drivers and area residents and businesses to plan for upcoming daytime full closures and lane restrictions on State Route 89A in Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon.

DAYTIME FULL CLOSURES

  • Full closures will be from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the following days:
    • Tuesday, June 20 through Thursday June 22.
    • Tuesday, June 27 and Wednesday, June 28.
  • North- and southbound SR 89A will be closed to all traffic between the Owenby Way roundabout and the Midgley Bridge picnic area (mileposts 375-376).
    • NORTHBOUND DETOUR:  Sedona area drivers  traveling north to Flagstaff will use State Route 179 to Interstate 17.
    • SOUTHBOUND DETOUR:  Flagstaff area drivers traveling south to Sedona will use I-17 to SR 179.
  • The roadway will reopen each day after work hours.

SINGLE-LANE RESTRICTIONS

  • SR 89A will be intermittently narrowed to one lane only with alternating north- and southbound travel between the Owenby Way roundabout and Oak Creek Vista (mileposts 375-390). The restrictions will be in place from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m from June 5 to 16 and on June 19, 23, 26, 29 and 30.
  • Flaggers and a pilot car will guide traffic through the work zone.
  • Speed limit will be reduced in the work zone.
  • No work will take place on the weekends.
  • The restrictions will be lifted each day after work hours.

The restrictions are needed as work continues on the SR 89A Oak Creek Canyon Improvements project, which includes rockfall mitigation, erosion control and a bridge rehabilitation.

Please visit azdot.gov/SR89A for additional project information or contact Community Relations Project Manager Jason Stephens at (480) 751-7104 or jstephens@azdot.gov.

Overnight full closures of State Route 89A Near Pumphouse Bridge

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OAK CREEK CANYON – The Arizona Department of Transportation is advising drivers and area residents and businesses to plan for overnight full closures of State Route 89A in Oak Creek Canyon weekdays from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. Mondays through Fridays on Aug. 15-19 and Aug. 22-26.

Closures will begin each evening at 9 p.m. starting on Monday, Aug. 15, and the roadway will reopen each morning at 6 a.m.
SR 89A will be closed to all traffic traveling north from Sedona beginning at the Cave Springs Campground (milepost 386).
DETOUR: Drivers on SR 89A traveling north to Flagstaff will use State Route 179 to Interstate 17.
SR 89A will be closed to all traffic traveling south from Flagstaff beginning at the Oak Creek Vista Overlook (milepost 390).
DETOUR: Drivers on SR 89A traveling south to Sedona will use I-17 to SR 179.
8-foot vehicle width and 30-foot length restrictions remain in place 24/7 for the duration of the project.

The overnight closures are needed so crews can safely continue working on the SR 89A Oak Creek Canyon Improvements project, which includes rockfall mitigation, erosion control and bridge rehabilitation. When full closures are lifted the roadway will continue to be narrowed to one lane only through the work zone(s) with alternating north- and southbound travel.

Intermittent closures of State Route 89A near Pumphouse Wash bridge May 2

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The Arizona Department of Transportation is advising drivers, area residents and businesses that a 3-mile section of State Route 89A in Oak Creek Canyon will be intermittently closed overnight on Monday, May 2.

SR 89A will be closed intermittently to traffic through the switchback portion of the roadway between the Pumphouse Wash Bridge and Oak Creek Vista (approximately between mileposts 387 – 390).

The 15-minute, non-consecutive full closures will occur twice per hour from 9 p.m. Monday, May 2 to 6 a.m. Tuesday, May 3.

Drivers should be prepared to stop and use caution around construction personnel and equipment while the overnight closures are in place.

The restrictions are needed so crews can place traffic-control barriers on the roadway for the SR 89A Oak Creek Canyon Improvements project, which includes rockfall mitigation, erosion control and a bridge rehabilitation.

Please visit azdot.gov/SR89A for additional project information

Body found below Midgley Bridge identified

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Oak Creek Canyon – The person whose body was recovered yesterday afternoon from the creek below Midgley Bridge has been identified as a 20 year-old, male who was a student at Arizona State University (ASU). His body was located by hikers on February 28, 2107 in the creek below Midgley Bridge. Sedona Fire responded and confirmed the subject was deceased. Coconino County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue recovered the body. Coconino County Sheriff’s Office Detectives preliminarily identified the subject by information in his wallet and located his vehicle in the parking lot at Midgley Bridge.

Although the body had been located below Midgley Bridge, investigators were at first cautious about referring to the case as a suicide until further investigation could be conducted. The condition of the body did not show many of the external indicators typically associated with suicides from Midgely Bridge.

As the investigation continued, it was learned the student had been reported missing by family to ASU Police Department which contacted Northern Arizona University (NAU) Police Department on February 27, 2017. It was learned the subject had last been seen on February 26, 2017 visiting a friend at NAU. NAU PD entered him as a missing person into the National Crime Information Center database as missing and endangered based on suicidal statements that investigators learned he had made.

Investigation is still ongoing and pending results from the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Sheriff’s Office Investigating Death Below Midgley Bridge

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OAK CREEK CANYON – Coconino County Sheriff’s Deputies and Detectives are investigating the death of a young adult male whose body was recovered by our Search and Rescue Team from the canyon floor below Midgley Bridge. The investigation is still ongoing, and we are waiting for confirmation that next of kin has been contacted. We hope to be able to provide additional details tomorrow.

Woman Sexually Assaulted in Oak Creek Canyon

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Oak Creek Canyon—Coconino County Sheriff’s Deputies and Detectives are investigating the sexual assault of a fifty two year-old woman from Tucson, Arizona who was sightseeing in Oak Creek Canyon on Wednesday, January 8, 2014.

On Wednesday at about 11:19 am the Sheriff’s Office received a call from an Emergency room in Sedona reporting a sexual assault. Deputies responded and conducted an initial interview with the victim. According to the victim she was vacationing in Flagstaff and was driving through Sedona on her return trip to Tucson. She stopped on the side of South 89A in close proximity to the Call of the Canyon day use area for the purpose of looking at the creek. While standing outside of her vehicle the victim was approached from behind and physically assaulted. During the attack the victim was sexually assaulted and at the conclusion of the assault the suspect left on foot possibly in a southerly direction. Detectives are investigating the possibility that the suspect was armed at the time of the assault.

The suspect is described as a white male, mid to late forties in age, with medium length dark colored hair, a scraggly dark colored beard and moustache. He was last seen wearing brown pants with side pockets, a dark colored sweat shirt and cowboy boots.

Individuals who believe they may have information regarding this crime or who possess information regarding the possible identity of the suspect are urged to call the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office at (928) 774-4523 or toll free at 1-800-338-7888 or Silent Witness at (928)774-6111.

Boy Scout Troop Rescued from West Fork

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Flagstaff—Coconino County Sheriff’s Deputies and Search and Rescue Volunteers assisted a group of eight Boy Scouts and three adult leaders out of the West Fork of Oak Creek Canyon after one of their leaders sustained a leg injury.

On Saturday, October 19, 2013 at about 11:00 pm the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office received a call from an adult male approximately thirty years of age who identified himself as one of three adult leaders who had taken a troop of Boy Scouts ranging in age from eight to twelve years on a hike through the West Fork of Oak Creek Canyon. According to the caller approximately three miles into their hike the group encountered an unexpected large body of water that ceased their forward progress.

According to the caller the group was not equipped or prepared to wade through the water that at its highest point was chest high on some of the boys. During this same time period the other male leader who was seventy-one years of age injured his leg to the point that he found hiking or walking to be painful. The reporting party hiked out to the West Fork Trail Head off of Woody Mountain Road which was the point where the group began their hike to call for help. He was able to obtain cellular telephone service and called the Sheriff’s Office for help and subsequently hiked back to the location where he left the rest of his group.

Sheriff’s Deputies and Search and Rescue Volunteers hiked to the group’s location. Some of the rescuers immediately escorted the boy scouts and a thirty year old female leader back to Woody Mountain Road. A group of Search and Rescue Volunteers remained with the injured leader and administered wilderness first aid preparing him to hike back to the starting point. The rescuers and the injured leader reached Woody Mountain Road on Sunday, October 20, 2013 at about 7:20 a.m. A crew from Guardian Medical Transport met the victim as he arrived and conducted an initial medical assessment. The injured person refused additional medical care and declined transportation to the medical center. The Boy Scouts and their leaders returned to the Phoenix area where they live.

Two Stranded Hikers Rescued from West Fork in Oak Creek Canyon

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SEDONA—Two male hikers, one seventeen and one twenty years of age both of Scottsdale, Arizona, were rescued by Coconino County Sheriff’s Office personnel late Saturday evening after they found themselves in darkness with no flashlights or other light sources.

On Saturday, June 1, 2013 at about 8:43 pm the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office received a call from the Sedona Fire Department (SFD). According to a SFD dispatcher, she received a 911 emergency call from one of two hikers who were stranded in West Fork Canyon in extremely dark conditions in the absence of a visible moon. The Sedona Fire Emergency Dispatch was able to determine latitude and longitude for the cell phone call, within approximately 100 feet, because they are equipped with a 911 Enhanced emergency call system that provides cell phone location information.

Furnished with a precise location of the stranded youth, a team comprised of a Coconino County Sheriff’s Deputy, a Search and Rescue Coordinator and a Search and Rescue Volunteer responded to the West Fork Trailhead and hiked approximately two miles to the victims’ location. Rescuers reached the victims at about 11:10 pm and provided each with a flashlight. The rescuers then accompanied the two hikers back to the trailhead.

The men and women of the Coconino County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Unit would like to remind hikers and hunters to leave a detailed trip plan with a trusted person and be prepared for the unexpected night out in the event of an accident or other emergency. Carry the 10 Essentials: extra water, food, warm clothing, navigation equipment, a headlamp or flashlight, a first aid kit, shelter material, a fire starting kit, a pocket knife, and signaling equipment like a signal mirror and whistle. These can be important tools to help you stay safe in the outdoors and to aid searchers in locating you. During the summer months extreme caution with fire is urged in order to prevent a wildfire.