Writer Shannon Severson // Photography by Loralei Lazurek
Having started as a Facebook group created during the 2020 Ocotillo Fire emergency to disseminate information from Rural Metro Fire and to coordinate large animal evacuations from fire-threatened areas, Arizona Foothills 911 has grown to become an indispensable emergency preparedness and response resource for the greater Cave Creek area.
“It began as helping animals and we still do that,” says Sunny Parker, Arizona Foothills 911’s founder, noting that the organization has two highly trained veterinarians on its team.
However, over the past four years, Arizona Foothills 911 has expanded its mission and operations, providing assistance and support to first responders and educating the community about how to best prepare for, prevent and evade disasters.
Heartbreak and New Hope
A major change in the trajectory of Arizona Foothills 911’s efforts was the disappearance and eventual posthumous recovery of hiker Kathleen Patterson at Spur Cross Recreation Area in September 2022. Patterson told her family that she planned to hike for a few hours but did not return and was missing for three days.
“Sunny jumped in to pull together her resources,” says Shawn Gilleland, Arizona Foothills 911’s public relations manager. “She gathered a local [search and rescue] team and was able to actually find Kathleen. In the place she was, she may have survived if she had gone one direction versus the other. If there was some way she could have attracted attention to herself, maybe things would have been different.
“We routinely run mountain rescues where people fall off a bike, twist an ankle or don’t bring enough water. These searches are dangerous for rescuers, too, especially in high temperatures.”
Unfortunately, there was not a happy outcome to the search for Patterson, but it did spawn an idea for how Arizona Foothills 911 could help others in similar circumstances.
“Kathleen affected me in a way I can’t explain,” Parker recalls. “The community and the entire country came together. I promised Mr. Patterson that I’d come up with something that would give other hikers a better chance of getting out.”
That same month, Dr. Evan Dishion, a first-year resident at Barrow Neurological Institute, was hiking in the same area of Spur Cross Recreation Area with a group of friends when he succumbed to heat exhaustion and later died. The Arizona Foothills 911 team of volunteers was part of the search.
“I asked the survivors, ‘Did you have a whistle?’” Parker says. “One did, but it wasn’t loud enough.”
One sleepless night, Parker had the idea to search the internet for a powerful whistle. After purchasing and reviewing 50 or 60 different kinds, she found the 140-decibel Storm Safety Whistle. She just needed a practical way to get them to the people who needed them.
Parker decided to create packs to hand out at events and to fire departments and firefighters. The pack contains the ultra-loud whistle on a breakaway lanyard so there is no catching or strangulation hazard; a card with whistle-use instructions and safety tips about how to make it easier for searchers to find you; and electrolytes that can be added to water.
“Kathleen still had water in her backpack,” Parker recalls. “People need electrolytes because, without them, a tired or injured hiker can become confused and disoriented. Carrying electrolytes with you makes a difference.”
She says the other crucial item that can’t fit in a backpack is time. For friends or family who suspect a loved one may be lost, the first call should be to 911.
“People hesitate,” Parker says. “You can’t. The odds of them coming back aren’t good. A call to 911 with a description of the lost individual will have a helicopter in the air before the family can drive to the area. Anyone who is going hiking or riding needs to take a selfie in the clothes they’re wearing and send it to loved ones with an approximate return time. Cell phones don’t always work.”
Parker is also working with Spur Cross Recreation Area and Maricopa County Parks and Recreation to create and post signs at trailheads, warning hikers not to venture out between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. during the summer. The signs have the potential to be effective at more trailheads throughout the county and state.
Tools and Training
Arizona Foothills 911 also assists publicly funded entities that lack basic equipment. For example, when Parker discovered that Bear Jaw Fire Department had a single flashlight for its entire 23-person team of wildland firefighters, she leaped into action.
“I said I could get them 22 more flashlights and asked them to send me the model number,” says Parker, noting that the smoke-penetrating flashlights were extremely costly at $279 apiece. “But we were able to get them 22. The community came together and did that.”
When the Sears Fire hit, Parker reached out to Bear Jaw Fire Chief Shelby Erickson and asked how Arizona Foothills 911 could be of assistance. The chief said that firefighters were sleeping on the ground and could use some cots.
“These needed to be lightweight, fire-resistant and foldable to be carried on their backs,” Parker says. “We were able to buy 22 of those cots, as well. [These departments] are not well-funded. We take care of them. It’s something most [people] don’t think about. Wildland firefighters go wherever they’re told to go. They come out and help us whenever they’re needed and we want to take care of them, too. Residents come together to meet those needs.”
Another key component of Arizona Foothills 911’s efforts is preparedness. Although much has changed to improve fire response in the Cave Creek area, missing hikers and horseback riders continue to be an issue. Therefore, Parker has begun organizing training seminars for search and rescue volunteers with local business owner, blacksmith and rock climber Paul Diefenderfer.
“He has experience and accolades,” Parker says. “He’s one of the searchers who found Kathleen. I’m proud he’s a part of our group.”
Volunteers began meeting as soon as the weather cooled in November. A dummy is used as the search subject for day- and nighttime hikes. Searchers learn how to deal with wildlife, how to track signs of a person in distress and how to identify — and be prepared for — finding someone who is deceased. Parker always has a grief counselor available at base camp.
Even if someone isn’t up for hiking the back trails in search of a missing hiker or horseback rider, there are opportunities for volunteers to pass out hydration and cooling packs, provide medical attention or manage volunteer arrivals and departures.
“There is always something that can be done,” Parker says.
Raffle for Rescue
Representative of the community’s support for Arizona Foothills 911’s growing role in helping area residents — whether they’ve got two feet or four — Grace Renee Gallery this season will hold a fundraising raffle for a stunning painting by Arizona artist Kenneth Peloke, with proceeds benefitting the nonprofit organization.
Entitled “Silver Lining,” the 48-by-36-inch oil, paper and panel painting is valued at $8500–$9500. Raffle tickets are available at the Carefree gallery for $100 apiece, with the announcement of a winner taking place during a special event, 4–7 p.m. Thursday, March 14.
“Arizona Foothills 911 plays an absolutely vital role in our community and the safety of our neighbors,” says Shelly Spence, owner of Grace Renee Gallery. “I hope that this event serves as both a celebration of Sunny’s organization and a contribution to help her continue the incredible, life-saving work that she is doing in our area.”
Parker, who will be on-hand during the event to draw the winner’s name at 6 p.m., says that she’s in shock when she sees unprepared hikers wearing flip-flops, without water and seemingly oblivious to the potential dangers that await them on our trails.
“People don’t think it will happen to them,” she explains. “They don’t understand the complexities. Many come from the Midwest and hike all the time in more humid environments. They say, ‘I’m not sweating!’ when the weather is good, but everyone needs to hydrate no matter what. By the time you get thirsty, it’s too late.
“We’ve lost two people right here at Spur Cross [Recreation Area] and a young girl recently died at Reach 11 [Recreation Area in Phoenix]. The heat overtakes them. We have to save people who don’t know better. It comes down to education more than anything. Ensure you’re doing the right thing so you don’t end up being helicoptered out — or worse.”
Arizona Foothills 911 Fundraiser Raffle
Thursday, March 14 // 4–7 p.m. // Grace Renee Gallery // 7212 E. Ho Hum Road, Carefree // 480-575-8080 // gracereneegallery.com
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