Three rescued from Zero Gravity slot canyon

EMERY, Emery County — A man was rescued by Emery County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue team after he was “wedged between canyon walls,” Monday night, according to Sheriff Tyson Huntington.

At approximately 10:30 p.m., the rescue team received a notification that a family was stuck in Zero Gravity slot canyon.

“Our experience in the past has shown that when someone is wedged between canyon walls, time is of the essence,” Huntington said.

He said that most search and rescue members were “in bed or otherwise turned in for the night” but prepared for the rescue regardless. Team members retrieved the equipment necessary and got to the slot canyon after midnight.

Huntington said the rescue involved a high-angle rope rescue team, and the rope system had to be built by members for the rescue. Team members ran the rope system above, while others helped from below.

“SAR members had to get rigged up and actually drop below the victim to help him be loosened from the canyon walls,” Huntington said in a Facebook post.

Department of Public Safety officials aided in the rescue.

The man who was wedged in the slot canyon was rescued, along with two others. There were no serious injuries. Huntington said that without the efforts of the team and their abilities, the outcome could have been “quite unfavorable.”

Search and rescue members returned home at approximately 6:30 a.m. “just in time to go to work.”

“I cannot overstate the importance of our Search and Rescue Team,” Huntington wrote. “All of our members are just regular people with huge hearts and a desire to serve others at the cost of themselves.”

“Most of the time they are in a much-needed cycle of beauty sleep when they are called to respond to the aid of others. I have the pleasure to rub shoulders with these guys and learn from them. They are truly a band of brothers. They have no desire for praise or accolades.”