Two young brothers who disappeared from their Mohave Valley home Sunday afternoon were found walking near Spirit Mountain Casino around midnight, roughly six miles from where they were last seen, after an eight-hour search that pulled in county search-and-rescue units, a tracking dog and a state police helicopter from Phoenix. Twelve-year-old Atom Ward and his 10-year-old brother, Jack, were last seen leaving their residence on the 10000 block of Bridle Lane around 3:50 p.m. Sunday, and Jack was barefoot when he was finally located.
According to FOX 10 Phoenix, Atom was wearing dark blue jeans, a black t-shirt, gray tennis shoes and possibly a black-and-white baseball hat, while Jack had on black cargo shorts and a pastel tie-dye t-shirt with no shoes at all. The boys' father began searching the surrounding neighborhood around 7 p.m. and found fresh footprints leading away from the property before emergency crews even arrived, FOX 10 Phoenix reports. Mohave County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue units later arrived.
Dog Team and Helicopter Join the Hunt
After search-and-rescue trackers confirmed the footprints belonged to the missing boys, they took over the tracking operation from their father, FOX 10 reported. SAR K9 Mano, a Belgian Malinois handled by Rick Powell, joined ground trackers searching the Mohave Valley desert overnight.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety's Central Air Rescue Unit dispatched a crew from Phoenix to provide overhead support, FOX 10 reported.
How local search-and-rescue resources are organized
Mohave County describes its Search & Rescue organization as an all-volunteer force of more than 130 members, organized into four geographically based units. The county says new members must attend a 32-hour Basic Academy, according to Mohave County. The Arizona Department of Public Safety says its Aviation Bureau provides air-rescue support to state and local partners. Its fiscal year 2023 summary reports 429 rescue flights, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
Other Search Details
Rescuers and family members also contacted local businesses along the boys' possible route to ask whether anyone had seen them, according to FOX 10.
Found Near the Casino, Reunited by Morning
Searchers located the brothers walking near Spirit Mountain Casino around midnight, about six miles from their home. The casino, an Indian gaming facility owned and operated by the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe at 8555 AZ-95, is in Mohave Valley on Highway 95, according to 500 Nations. Family members reunited with the boys and brought them home safely early Monday morning, and authorities reported both boys were in good health, per the same account from FOX 10 Phoenix.
Why the brothers wandered six miles from home, and exactly how far they walked before being found, both remain unclear, FOX 10 Phoenix reports. The Mohave County Sheriff's Office has not released further detail on the circumstances that led the boys away from Bridle Lane. Mohave County's search and rescue teams have handled a range of high-stakes operations in the region, including a 100-foot mine shaft dog rescue and a desert search tied to the case of missing Lake Havasu City woman Marissa Hoffman.
