YAVAPAI COUNTY, Ariz. -- The Yavapai County Sheriff's Office helped rescue two Air Force men after one of them fell ill while hiking in the Wet Beaver Wilderness over Labor Day weekend.
Richard Ingram, 21, and Daniel Haines, 24, began their hike on Friday along the Apache Maid Trail and camped in the area until Saturday morning.
According to the sheriff's office, the men ran out of water while hiking to Hog Hill on Saturday. They used water filters to purify water out of nearby cow tanks and camped in the area overnight.
On Sunday morning, Haines woke up feeling ill, dizzy and was vomiting. Ingram did not want to leave him to get help so he called 911.
A YCSO Forest Patrol supervisor ascertained Haines was in immediate medical need and requested a Department of Public Safety Ranger helicopter for evacuation.
YCSO provided the Ranger crew with GPS coordinates and the hikers were located on the south side of Hog Hill around 12:30 p.m. The Ranger landed about 100 yards from their location and the two were escorted to the helicopter.
Haines was treated on board by a DPS paramedic and transported to the Verde Valley Medical Center.
Sheriff's spokesman Dwight D'Evelyn said Haines possibly suffered an infection from parasites in the stock tank water. Blood test results are pending.
Both Ingram and Haines are stationed at Luke Air Force Base.
