PINAL COUNTY, AZ — Members of a group from Kansas are recovering after they were rescued during a hike in the Arizona heat.

Just before 7:30p.m. on August 22, the Pinal County Sheriff’s office received a call from a hiker on the Flat Iron Trail in Lost Dutchman State Park requesting help, according to Sheriff Mark Lamb.

When the Superstition Arizona Search and Rescue team arrived, they learned that it was a group of 44 fitness instructors from Kansas that needed assistance due to the heat which reached 106 degrees. 

State Parks spokeswoman Michelle Thompson said the hikers didn’t begin their hike until 3 p.m. and they were advising against making the hike that time of day “but they insisted.”

 

Rescue personnel and Lost Dutchman State Park rangers helped most of the hikers walk back to the park from a trail on an adjacent national forest.

Two of the hikers were extracted by the DPS Ranger Helicopter and two were led out by UTV. One of those was transported by ground to the hospital.