17 members of youth group rescued from Garfield County slot canyon

In a file photo for illustrative purposes, a helicopter crew from the Utah Department of Public Safety assists in the rescue of seven hikers from a slot canyon in Garfield County, Utah, April 28, 2019 | Photo courtesy of the Garfield Sheriff's Office, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A group of 15 teenagers and two adult leaders were rescued from a treacherous slot canyon in Garfield County by ground and aerial search and rescue teams Friday morning.

The Garfield County Sheriff said it took four hours for the Utah Highway Patrol’s aero team to airlift each person out of the North Wash-area Sandthrax Canyon, known as the “Canyon of Doom” for its thin, large silos.

“This is not the canyon you go to if you’re a novice,” Garfield County Sheriff Danny Perkins told St. George News/Cedar City News. “Even experts get in trouble.”

Perkins said it was unclear what group the 17 people may have been affiliated with or how and when they became trapped but said all are safe with, at worst, minor injuries.

“This place is just so remote,” Perkins said. “We don’t have cell phones or anything.”

An undated image of Santhrax Canyon, Garfield County, Utah | Photo courtesy of rawtrails/Ropewiki.com, St. George News

The slot canyon, about an hour west of Canyonland National Park off state Route 95, has been the site of several rescues in the past and most hiking and climbing guides implore that Sandthrax is only to be traversed by the most experienced rappelers.

In fact, on Utah.com, there’s a soft of warming that reads: “Bottom line: If you’re not sure you can nail it, don’t do it.” 

Perkins said the biggest assist came from the Highway Patrol’s Aero team, known for their precarious rescues

“Without them, we would have really been in trouble.”

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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