Searchers in �night gear� continue rescue of Bear Canyon hikers
9 minutes ago � Kimberly Matas, Arizona Daily Star
Most of the hikers trapped in Bear Canyon by rushing water have been rescued, but searchers are still trying to bring another 10 out in the dark.
�They�re all wearing their night gear and going back in,� said Peine just after 6:30 p.m.
Between 40 and 50 hikers � adults and children � were stranded in different parts of the canyon when water began rushing down the Catalina Mountains from rains earlier in the day, Deputy Tom Peine, spokesman for the Pima County Sheriff�s Department, said.
While rescuers on the ground monitored gauges to determine whether the water is receding or rising and decide the best way to rescue the hikers, a Department of Public Safety helicopter was assessing the situation from the air.
The first group of hikers was led out of the canyon just after 5 p.m., Peine said. Deputies used swift-water rescue techniques � roping together hikers and flotation devices � to walk some of them through the water. Others were flown out of the canyon by helicopter.
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Last edited by crossfireoops; 01/26/13.
