The third child was last listed in critical condition
By Jon Johnson
[email protected]
LOWER EAGLE CREEK, GREENLEE COUNTY – Two children are dead, and one was last listed as being in critical condition after a UTV crash Friday night that left a Polaris Ranger fully submerged in Eagle Creek.
The area is west of Morenci and is known for outdoor recreation. The children were listed as being between 4 and 12 years old, with the middle-aged child being taken to a Tucson hospital via ground ambulance due to inclement weather. The family was visiting from Deming, New Mexico, and were recreating in the area for Easter weekend.
According to Greenlee County Sheriff Eric Ellison, authorities were dispatched at about 5:21 p.m. regarding a rollover crash involving a UTV in the Lower Eagle Creek area. Upon arrival, deputies located a completely submerged UTV with two deceased individuals. One severely injured female had already been taken from the scene. A Ranger with the Arizona Department of Public Safety was lowered from a helicopter to help remove the bodies from the area. The trooper had to be lowered from the hovering helicopter due to not having any place to land.
Other agencies that assisted in the rescue and recovery included Greenlee County Search and Rescue, Morenci Swift Water Rescue, and Greenlee County EMS.
According to Sheriff Ellison, the family is from Deming, New Mexico, and was camping for Easter weekend with other families when they decided to go for a ride up the creek after lunch.
The children were riding in the Polaris Razor with their mother in the passenger seat and their father driving. The area has multiple water crossings, and during one crossing, one side was listed at roughly 2.5 to 3 feet deep while the other side led to an 8-foot drop-off. As the UTV went through, it rolled over and was sucked into the hole, trapping the three children under the water.
According to Greenlee Arizona Tourism, Eagle Creek is one of Arizona’s largest creeks and is known for its spectacular scenery, historical remnants, and uncrowded campgrounds. In addition to natural wonders like the “El Capitan” rock formation and the 90-degree mineral water from Eagle Creek Hot Springs, there are also various ruins to explore and plenty of wildlife to see.
The area is very rugged, however, and the area where the incident took place was inaccessible to the Greenlee County Sheriff’s Office’s vehicles. That’s when locals stepped up and voluntarily offered to lend their off-road UTVs to the deputies, and five or six were taken up on the offer.
Roughly halfway to the scene, Ellison encountered a southbound UTV carrying one of the victims en route to meet up with Greenlee County EMS. The girl was taken to a Tucson hospital for treatment, but no update on her condition was given other than that she was last listed as being in critical condition.
After more than an hour of travel, Ellison arrived at the scene to find the Polaris Razor completely submerged with one tire poking out of the water. At that time, the second victim was out of the UTV and was being given cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), but she was later pronounced deceased at the scene. Sheriff Ellison then entered the water along with members of the Morenci Swift Water Rescue and Morenci Fire to assist with the recovery of the third victim. No injuries to the parents were reported.
“We were able to get the third child out,” Ellison said.
The crash is still under investigation.
Ellison thanked all the agencies for their work on the case, which didn’t see a closure at the scene until well after midnight.