On April 20, 1998 El Dorado County Search and Rescue began what ultimately became a major search for an Alzheimer's patient in the Crystal Boulevard area. The mission lasted parts of three days and two nights, and grew to include teams from several other counties.
When SAR volunteers got called at 6 p.m. April 20, they could have been forgiven for thinking, "We won't get out of the driveway on this one." The subject, April, a 74-year old Alzheimer's patient, had wandered off several times before, but had always been found quickly by neighbors or by Sheriff's deputies. There had been a SAR callout a few weeks before, but it had been quickly cancelled.
But April was still lost when searchers arrived at the command post, a small fire station on Quartz Road. As dusk fell, Plans and Operations set up shop in the engine bay, while dispatchers worked out of the large communications van. Search teams of three and four people fanned out over the hills looking for April.
Despite its pretentious name, Crystal Boulevard is a just two-lane residential road that serves a small community of tightly packed single family homes about 3 miles south of Diamond Springs, just off Highway 49. This isolated strip of suburbia seems oddly out of place amid the thousand-acre ranches around it. Geographically, the area consists of rolling hills several hundred feet high. The Consumnes River flows directly south and divides the terrain in two. At this time of the year, water saturates the soil, collects in small streams and makes low lying ground into mud. Areas of hillside pasture are bounded by thick brush, and poison oak abounds.
April was reported to be in good physical shape for a 74-year old. She liked to walk, and went out several times a day. Usually she returned, but on several occasions she had gotten lost. Once, deputies had found her 6 miles away in Placerville. She was nimble and would climb gates and fences. She often took her yellow labrador with her, so searchers were on the lookout for canine, as well as human, tracks.
Monday night was a bust. At first, dog teams found some encouraging signs, but since April took a lot of walks, her scent was all over the neighborhood, and it all led nowhere. Search teams also found tracks near a pond near April's home, but these eventually disappeared, too. A national guard helicopter crew with an infrared camera scoured the area but found nothing. Finally, the search was scaled back about 2 a.m. so searchers could get some rest.
On Tuesday, more people, more helicopters and more four-wheel drives arrived at the fire station. A few vehicles from other counties began showing up. TV news crews did live interviews. Horse trailers were lined up nose-to-tail along little Quartz Road. Helicopters buzzed up and down the shallow canyons, as a dozen teams combed the hills and pastures. But at the end of the day, searchers had no more than what they had started with.
Tuesday night, the search managers huddled. It seemed like a UFO had lifted April off the face of the earth. There weren't many places that hadn't been searched. A big push was planned for Wednesday, but after that, what? They'd wait and see.
Even more people began showing up at 6:00 on Wednesday morning. Unfamiliar faces and uniforms crowded the driveway of the little fire station, and news crews roamed in and out of the crowds taking pictures while searchers stood in groups of four and five. Before long, as teams received their assignments the crowd began to dwindle, and by 8:00 most of the teams were in the field.
In SAR, just when you're ready to lose hope, success has a way of surprising you. At 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, success came dressed as a radio call from Star 3, Sacramento County's helicopter. The pilot had a sighted a subject matching April's description, accompanied by a large light colored dog, about 3½ miles southwest of CP.
Sure enough, it was April. She was sitting on the bank of a small stream, covered with scratches and bruises, and incoherent at first, but not seriously injured. She was airlifted to UC Davis Medical Center. Her dog Honey, who had stayed with her the whole time, was driven back to CP and became a TV celebrity.
April was released later that day in good shape. The medical staff described her condition as "a miracle."
Although it seemed longer, the search for April took only 39 hours. At its peak, it involved nearly 100 people from four counties as well as the CHP and the National Guard. The family has expressed their deep gratitude to all the Search and Rescue volunteers who helped find her.