Mayor Eric Enriquez City of Las Cruces | City of Las Cruces
Mayor Eric Enriquez City of Las Cruces | City of Las Cruces
On Sunday, the Las Cruces Fire Department's Technical Rescue Team was involved in a mission to assist a stranded hiker in the Organ Mountains. This marked their second call within four days for such an operation.
At around 5 p.m. on February 9, 2025, five members of the LCFD’s Technical Rescue Team were dispatched to aid in locating a hiker stranded near The Needle, which is the highest point of the Organ Mountains at approximately 9,000 feet above sea level. The team collaborated with several agencies including the U.S. Border Patrol's Search and Rescue team, New Mexico State Police, Mesilla Valley Search and Rescue, and the Organ Mountain Technical Rescue team.
The hiker, identified as a 29-year-old man, was spotted by a Border Patrol helicopter navigating challenging wind conditions near The Needle's peak. Utilizing a helicopter spotlight for guidance, rescue teams assisted him down to a rendezvous point where MVSAR personnel had ascended to meet him. From there, they facilitated his descent along trails to the designated rescue staging area. Fortunately, he was uninjured despite hiking alone.
Earlier that week on Wednesday evening of February 5, LCFD’s Technical Rescue Team participated in another mission alongside Mesilla Valley Search and Rescue, Organ Mountain Technical Rescue, and New Mexico State Police. This operation focused on searching for and recovering a 63-year-old man from Columbus, Ohio who had died following a fall in the mountains. That mission concluded around 3 a.m. on Thursday morning.
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