I watched the dread cross her face-she’d only ever hiked with me. It didn’t seem possible, but after 15 minutes struggling and soaking our clothes, we had to confront reality: We couldn’t get my leg free. We wedged a large stick next to my leg, but it wasn’t strong enough to release the cement-like mud. When that didn’t work, I dug frantically with my bare hands, but it was useless-the water filled in instantly, preventing any progress and freezing my fingers. I tugged with all my strength, trying to brace with my free left leg. Jessika was safe-the nearby mud was solid-but now I was stuck. I lunged forward and pulled her out by her torso, but in doing so, my own right leg sank to the knee. She had sunk to her knees and couldn’t get free. There was no way around the pool, but it looked shallow so, testing the footing with the walking stick, we began to make our way across. I helped Jessika over large rocks and found a sturdy walking stick for balance.įour miles in, a pond-size puddle blocked the trail. Snow dusted the ground when we set out at 8 a.m. Our route would take us 10 miles round-trip to the Subway, a tunnel-like canyon accessed via boulder scrambles and creek crossings. Six hours prior, I’d embarked on a dayhike in Zion with my girlfriend, Jessika. I listened for footsteps or voices, but heard nothing except the gusts rippling the water around me. Only a chilly wind broke the silence of the ravine. The contrast of white atop the rust sandstone and pines looked lovely-I tried to focus on that instead of the numbness in my trapped leg. Times-Independent reporter Molly Marcello contributed to this story.Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members!Ī fresh layer of snow settled on my shoulders and hat. “Always let people know what your plan is if you are hiking or biking alone,” he said. He said people who plan to hike or bike alone should always notify a friend or family member of their plans and the area in which they will be recreating. Mostly, you see livestock stuck in the sand.” “It is not common for a person to get stuck. “There has been only one other case I know of in the Moab area of a person getting stuck in quicksand and that was in the 1990s,” he said. Webster said it was unusual to find someone stuck in quicksand in the Moab area. Grand County Emergency Medical Services and rescue members assisted in transporting Corson to her vehicle in the parking lot. “We eventually broke the suction, and were able to pull her leg out a little at a time and got her out after about twenty minutes.”Ĭorson told the search crews that she had become stuck at about 9 a.m. “We started digging in the quicksand with our hands, right around her leg in order to break the suction,” Webster said. Grand County Search and Rescue Commander Jim Webster said it took some time to extricate Corson as rescue workers had to break her free from the suction of the quicksand. Kim Neal said in the news release.Ĭorson was found, mired knee-deep in quicksand, approximately two hours later about a quarter-mile up the wash. Search teams from Arches National Park and Grand County Search and Rescue quickly began searching near the bike path and surrounding areas, including upper Courthouse Wash, Grand County Sheriff’s Lt. to say she had found Corson’s vehicle in the parking lot at Courthouse Wash, according to the police report. The friend told authorities that Corson often walked on the bike path at Courthouse Wash about three miles north of Moab along U.S. An attempt-to-locate bulletin was then issued on Corson’s vehicle. Police checked her home but found no one home and nothing unusual, according to the report. The friend, who contacted the Moab Police Department, told officers that it was “highly unusual” for Corson to miss a meeting and to be gone so long, according to a police report. the previous day according to the news release. on July 9 in an area of Courthouse Wash in Arches National Park, according to a news release from the Grand County Sheriff’s Office.Ī friend reported Corson missing on July 9 after she failed to show up at the Grand County Library for a book club meeting. Maggie Corson was “in good condition” when she was found by search crews at approximately 11 p.m. A 78-year-old Moab woman spent 14 hours mired in quicksand before rescue teams were able to locate her.
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