Massive Search Effort in Northern Arizona Locates Missing Jewish Child
by Mendel Super – chabad.org
Tzion Maron, an 8-year-old boy visiting northern Arizona with his family from Baltimore, went missing on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. as he and his family made their way out of Lava Cave, a popular subterranean trail in the Coconino National Forest just outside of Flagstaff, Ariz. “When they came out of the cave, the kid was gone—lost in the woods,” Rabbi Dovie Shapiro, director of Chabad-Lubavitch of Flagstaff, told Chabad.org.
Shapiro was the first to get the call from the family of the boy, along with Chaverim of Arizona, a Scottsdale-based Jewish volunteer organization that renders assistance for anything from a flat tire to a search and rescue mission. Shapiro gathered community members of Chabad of Flagstaff who were familiar with the terrain and immediately began searching. “We were there all night doing as much as we could in the dark. The Coconino County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue team was also involved,” he says.
The team from Scottsdale arrived later that evening, headed by Moshe Lobl. “We collaborated, even though we were two hours away,” Lobl says. “Rabbi Shapiro mentioned bad weather, so we brought the necessary gear and people. Last night, we started searching. It was an amazing effort. Seeing how the rabbi went all out with food and accommodations was incredible.”
Hatzolah of Los Angeles, a Jewish medical first-responder volunteer organization sent a crew and a mobile command post as well. In what Shapiro describes as the “most amazing part” of the rescue effort, the New York-based Hatzolah Air flew in seasoned search and rescue professionals from Chaverim of Rockland County, N.Y., on a private plane. From nearby Sedona, Rabbi Mendel Kessler, director of Chabad of Sedona, also joined the search party.
“When Rockland Chaverim arrived, their coordination and professionalism were unbelievable,” Shapiro says. They began searching the area with drones at daybreak, and employed crews on the ground at 9:30 a.m. By 10:45 a.m., Rockland Chaverim had found the boy just outside the first-priority search zone established by the sheriff’s department, alive and stable.
“Everyone worked together to make this happen. We were the first on the ground and stayed the whole time, serving as a link with the local sheriffs and SAR teams, and providing food for the SAR teams,” says Shapiro, noting how Chabad’s chef and kitchen staff went into overdrive preparing food for all the volunteers.
“Now, everyone is headed to Chabad for a celebration meal,” he adds.
“There was a massive amount of people and incredible speed involved,” says Lobl of the Arizona Chaverim branch. “It felt like it was my own son who was missing; I have an 8-year-old daughter, and I couldn’t leave until we found the boy.”
He says “the entire Flagstaff community—Jewish volunteers, non-Jewish volunteers, everyone came together. It was an amazing sight to see. Despite everything going on in the world today, it’s heartwarming to know there’s a place like Arizona where people are so friendly and giving. It was a real team effort.”
