Overview
- Austin Dirks, 33, became trapped up to his thighs before sunrise on Dec. 6 in the Courthouse Wash area during a Hayduke Trail section hike.
- With no cell service, he sent an SOS via a Garmin messenger that alerted Grand County Search and Rescue and park rangers.
- Responders used a drone to pinpoint his location, then employed a ladder, traction boards and shovels to reach him safely and dig him free.
- He endured hours immobilized in roughly 21-degree conditions, facing circulation loss and hypothermia risk, but left without reported serious injury.
- Authorities describe such rescues as uncommon locally, citing a 2014 case nearby and a 2019 incident in Zion, and they stress trip planning and vigilance around wet sand.