Missing Hikers Found Safe
ATV Rider Remains Missing In Separate Search
POSTED: 7:02 am MST January 4,
2009
UPDATED: 12:31 pm MST January 5,
2009
APACHE JUNCTION, Ariz. -- Two hikers who went missing in the Superstitution Mountains near Apache Junction have been found safe, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office said.The pair, a man and woman, vanished Sunday night.Searchers began looking for the couple about 9:20 p.m. and continued their search through the night with the help of a jeep posse, mountain rescue unit and a helicopter.Authorities said they found the couple's car at the First Water Trailhead in the Lost Dutchman Park.In Coconino County, sheriff's deputies said an ATV rider who went missing needs his blood pressure medicine.Coconino County Sheriff's Office search and rescue volunteers, deputies and detectives, along with the Gila County Sheriff's Office search and rescue and the Arizona Department of Public Safety air rescue are conducting a search for Mark Russell Irby, 51.Irby and family members were at their home in Forest Lakes Friday morning when Irby told his wife he was going for a short ride around the subdivision on his ATV. He has not been seen or heard of since.Irby is described as 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing 175pounds. He has brown hair and brown eyes. He was last scene wearing a denim shirt, blue jeans and riding a red Bombardier ATV with Arizona License Plate 36B-175.Irby was not dressed for the extreme weather or an extended trip away from home.People with information about the whereabouts of Irby are asked to call the Coconino County Sheriff's Office at 928-774-4523 or 1-800-338-7888.
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