Chip Chick
2 days after Emily and Alex failed to make it home with their dogs, their loved ones reported them as missing.
The search was on to find them, and the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office worked alongside several different agencies to try to find the couple.
Inyo County Search and Rescue, the Bureau of Land Management, Death Valley National Park, and CalOES all worked for days trying to find Emily and Alex.
Helicopters and planes were also brought out by the Army National Guard, China Lake Naval Weapons Base, CHP, and Lemoore Naval Air Station in an attempt to have better visibility into where Emily and Alex could possibly be.
The Inyo County Sheriff’s Office also took to social media to share photos of Alex and Emily, along with their white Subaru.
They had tried to contact Alex and Emily on their cellphones, but their phones appeared to be off, as their calls were sent directly to voicemail.
Given that the couple was in such a remote area when the sheriff’s office tried to analyze their cellphones, they couldn’t get any information on where they might be located within the park.
After 3 grueling days of searching, Alex and Emily’s car was found, along with their three dogs and a note that helped lead rescuers right to the couple.
Inyo County Sheriff’s Office; pictured above is Emily and Alex’s car that they drove to Death Valley, and you can see their 3 dogs inside
The note that Alex and Emily had left behind in their car distressingly said, “Two flat tires, headed to Mormon Point, have three days’ worth of water.”
This note was the tip everyone needed to focus their efforts to find the couple, and they quickly were able to locate them after that discovery.
On April 8th at 4 p.m., rescuers found Alex and Emily. The aerial search team found them, and they were in a precarious position.
“They were spotted through aerial reconnaissance in a very remote area of Death Valley National Park near Willow Creek on a very steep ledge,” the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office explained in a press release.
“A hoist operation was attempted, but due to the extreme location, the two team members who rappelled down were unable to reach Lofgren and Henkel.”
“It is unclear at this point what condition Lofgren and Henkel are in. This evening an Inyo Search and Rescue technical team will travel to Death Valley National Park and will descend the canyon as soon as they arrive.”
Inyo County Sheriff’s Office; pictured above is Emily and Alex
The following day at around 11:40 in the morning, rescuers were finally able to get to Emily and Alex.
Unfortunately, Alex had already passed away by the time help had arrived. Emily was still alive, but she was seriously injured.
Lemoore Naval Air Station flew her out of the area so she could get immediate medical attention for her foot.
“This has been a tremendously difficult operation in a very unforgiving geographic area of Inyo County, I sincerely hope for healing and recovery for all involved,” Inyo County Sheriff Jeff Hollowell said after the rescue mission came to an end.
A GoFundMe page has been created to help cover the costs of Alex’s funeral and Emily’s surgery that you can donate to here.
