The Grand Canyon has long been the place to go if you don't want to be found. Over 25,000 people a year book one or two week river trips to get lost in the depths of the canyon. Many more thousands attempt to lose the outside world by hiking into intimate side canyons. The Havasupai people, who historically have always made the canyon their home, were some of the last to be encountered by the pioneering white settlers moving across the American west in the late 1870's.
The canyon is 277 miles long, starting at Lee' Ferry and cutting into the Colorado Plateau until it dramatically ends at the Grand Wash cliffs, headwaters of modern day lake Mead. The canyons' vastness invites people to slip away. Lee's ferry itself, gets it's name from a well known fugitive, John D Lee, he was attempting to escape the law after the Mountain Meadow massacre.
For the last 135 years, people have tried to hide in the Grand Canyon, one of the more intriguing stories begins in May of 1992. Danny Ray Horning, a convict serving four life sentences, for bank robbery,kidnapping, and aggravated assault, walked out of the state prison at Florence in southern Az. Horning had been trained in backcountry survival during an 11 month stint in the military prior to his criminal escapades, he was also a native Arizonan who knew the country well. The combination of the two backgrounds and his criminal mind, kept Danny ray on the run in Northern Arizona for almost three months. After a police officer spotted Horning in early June in a stolen vehicle, he disappeared into the wilderness, relying on his training and instincts for survival. Officals combed the area in the followng days, with over 60 personal and a couple of blood hounds. The hounds eventually lost the trail due to Horning double-tracking and walking in fiure eights to confuse the dogs. Law officals now knew that capturing the convict was going to be much more difficult than previosly thought.
Danny Ray didn't surface again until a few days later. On June 25th a ranger at the Grand Canyons south rim reported shots being fired after he had pulled over a pick-up truck on the west rim drive, heading out to Hermits rest. Horning fled the scene on foot, and the ranger was able to interview the frightened couple in the truck. The couple was from Flagstaff, the day before they were in a Flagstaff veterinary clinic, when leaving the clinic Horning approached with a pistol and motioned to the truck(no animals were harmed in the writing of this blog) . After leaving Flagstaff, Horning forced the couple to drive him to Kingman,Az, close to the Nevada border. Then unexpectedly, he made them turn back to and drive to Williams,Az, 60 miles south of Grand Canyon National Park. In Williams, Horning forced the couple to withdraw $1500 dollars out of their account. They then drove north to the canyon, and booked a night in the famous El Tovar hotel. All the while a massive man hunt was under way, and no one recognized the fugitive. The next day, they went shopping at a local sporting goods store where Horning purchased hiking boots for himself . During an attempt to kidnap a family with a recreational vehicle, one of the children started to scream, an NPS officer nearby came over to see what all the commotion was. Horning fired a shot, nearly missing the officer, he then fled the scene. The next day he was spoted by two different witnesses, hiking down the Bright Angel trail. Officials swarmed the area of the canyon and used a helicopter from the aBorder Patrol equipped with an infrared scanning device. They had no luck, but on June 29th he came out of the canyon almost 20 miles to the East and tried to take hostage a couple on vacation from Oregon. The couple got away from Horning, but he took off with thier 1978 yellow station wagon. He then dyed his hair from brown to blonde, and a few days later on July 4th, he kidnapped a couple at gunpoint . After being asked to get out of the car and lift his hat by an officer , he was passed through a checkpoint.
Horning days were numbered, after tying the couple up to a tree, he left them alone.They were able to get out and call the Police, the station wagon was spotted headed south past Flagstaff. A high speed chase in sued, Horning left the highway, crashed into a tree and made his escape.He was then spotted in the Village of Oak Creek, near Sedona, drinking from a water hose. Witnesses called the Police and on July 5th, blood hounds sniffed their way to find Horning fast asleep under a deck. Finally the chase was over and the Police had their man.
A grand story, can only happen in such a Grand place. If you want to create your own grand stories, or just to hear more about the Grand Canyons facinating history,GO WEST, and join either a day hike or tour. If you really want to have some tales to tell , join a multiday hike , and truely lose your self in the depths of this wonder of the world. Visit our site, Around the Bend Adventures, by
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