Missing hiker found after night in wilds

WASHINGTON COUNTY — A 37-year-old man was located by Washington County Search and Rescue Sunday afternoon.

Casey Madsen, St. George, was hiking along the Oak Grove trailhead on Signal Peak when he began following a group of Scouts who were using mirrors to signal Morse Code messages to other Scout troops on surrounding mountains. Washington County Sheriff's Sgt. Jeff Bailey said that both the Scouts and Madsen lost the trail. The Scouts backtracked to the trail, but Madsen continued on.

Bailey said that at around 7:15 p.m. Madsen sent a text message to his wife stating he couldn't find his way back, and she alerted search and rescue teams. Searchers were on the ground by 8 p.m.

Teams searched the area on foot until 2:30 a.m. Sunday, and Bailey waited by Madsen's car throughout the night in case the hiker found his own way. The search resumed on foot again Sunday morning and a privately owned helicopter searched for Madsen from the sky.

Bailey said that Scouts informed searchers of the last area they'd seen the missing man, and he was found in the area soon after. At around 2:30 p.m. Sunday Madsen was able to call rescuers and provided them with GPS coordinates of his location.

Madsen was dehydrated and an Air Med helicopter from Page, Ariz., flew him to Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George.

— Clayton Norlen