‘It has been game-changing’: Southern Utah officials welcome DPS Aero Bureau with ribbon-cutting

Written by Mori Kessler
April 5, 2023

ST. GEORGE — Credited with saving lives and significantly benefiting local search and rescue personnel since its creation last summer, the southern branch of the Utah Department of Public Safety’s Aero Bureau was officially celebrated Monday with a ribbon-cutting at the St. George Regional Airport.

At the ribbon-cutting event for the Southern Utah Aero Bureau held at the St. George Regional Airport, St. George, Utah, April 3, 2023 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

“It has been game-changing for us,” Washington County Sheriff’s Sgt. Darrell Cashin, who oversees search and rescue operations in the county, told the media as he stood in front of a Utah DPS helicopter. Known as Star 9 when called out over dispatch channels, the helicopter and its crew have already been involved in multiple search and rescue operations.

One of the more recent and notable incidents Star 9 played a part in was the search and rescue of Washington City Police Officer Brad Coleman in early March. Coleman had gone on a motorbike ride in the Warner Valley area and was reported overdue. The Washington County Search and Rescue was soon mobilized and Star 9 was called out. Coleman was eventually found by Star 9’s crew at the bottom of a slot canyon where he crashed after a 15-20-foot fall.

Star 9’s “game-changing” capability came into play once Coleman was found.

Unlike Intermountain Health’s Life Flight helicopter, which has also been routinely used for locating people during certain search and rescue operations, Aero Bureau helicopters are outfitted with hoists.

Hoist operators can lower personnel down to an injured or stranded party and retrieve them in areas where a helicopter may otherwise be unable to safely land or are only accessible to ground crews by foot or horseback. The latter alone can take hours and add to the time it takes to respond to a potentially life-threatening situation.

Washington County Sheriff Nate Brooksby speaks at the ribbon-cutting event for the Southern Utah Aero Bureau held at the St. George Regional Airport, St. George, Utah, April 3, 2023 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

“I fully believe that without this hoist capability, Brad Coleman wouldn’t be alive today,” Washington County Sheriff Nate Brooksby said prior to the ribbon-cutting. “To have a 12-hour mission reduced to a 30-minute one because of this (hoist) capability is phenomenal to have in Southern Utah.”

Cashin said he believes up to four or five others also owe their lives to Star 9’s use since last summer.

Brooksby noted Coleman’s wife was at the ribbon-cutting event to thank the Star 9 flight crew credited with saving her husband. Coleman himself remains in the hospital as he recovers from his injuries, Brooksby added.

Coleman’s wife declined to speak with media at the event.

“That hoist capability has been a game changer,” Brooksby said. “It’s already saved us hundreds of man-hours and reduced the risks to our search and rescue personnel.”

That sentiment was echoed by Sen. Don Ipson, R-St. George, who helped secure funding for the DPS helicopter at the legislative level, and Cashin.

“We’re risking our people by sending them out to these places,” Cashin said.

At the ribbon-cutting event for the Southern Utah Aero Bureau held at the St. George Regional Airport, St. George, Utah, April 3, 2023 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

Rescuers face the same risks as those to whom they are responding. Threats of cold, dehydration and heat can take their toll, as well as unforgiving terrain.

“Prior to their coming in we did everything the hard way,” Cashin said.

Ipson noted that the cost of the new helicopter was around $5 million, with the hoist system adding another $1 million. Regardless of the cost, however, he said, “It provides an incredible service.”

Before 2016, Utah DPS choppers didn’t have hoist capabilities. When the idea of adding it was presented to the agency’s leadership at the time, there were some doubts due to concerns like insurance and the risk factors involved, Jess Anderson, DPS commissioner, said at Monday’s event.

“There were a lot of concerns,” Anderson said, yet went on to say the addition of the hoist system has proven invaluable. Utah DPS and its Aero Bureau also have been recognized for their work outside of the state, he said.

“They are being recognized as one of the most premiere law enforcement agencies in the county and in the world by what they do,” Anderson said. “It’s a great honor to represent them.”

As the program grew, it became evident that Southern Utah required its own helicopter to better respond to search and rescue and law enforcement incidents, the commissioner said, as responding from Salt Lake City “is too long and too far.”

At the ribbon-cutting event for the Southern Utah Aero Bureau held at the St. George Regional Airport, St. George, Utah, April 3, 2023 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

The Legislature and Gov. Spencer Cox were supportive in providing DPS with the means to bring a helicopter to Southern Utah, Anderson said. He also thanked the city of St. George for supplying a home for Star 9 at the regional airport.

Last year, St. George City passed a resolution leasing use of a hanger to the DPS Southern Utah Aero Bureau. The lease has a term of 20 years at the cost of $1 annually.

“We’re grateful that Star 9 is here,” St. George Mayor Michele Randall said. “We are grateful to the Department of Public Safety. We have so many tourists here in Southern Utah. Our city and county are growing by leaps and bounds. This (helicopter) will be used more than we ever thought it would need to be used, but we’re really grateful to have it here.”

In 2002, the bureau ran over 500 missions, the governor said after getting up to speak. So far this year, as of March 23, it has run nearly 200 missions. From those runs, 70 people have been rescued via 39 hoist missions.

“Those numbers are exploding in ways I don’t think any of us anticipated and shows the vision of those who started this program,” Cox said and went on the praise the partnerships between DPS, legislators and elected officials in paving the way for Star 9’s coming to Southern Utah.

While the Aero Bureau’s use in search and rescue operations was the primary focus of the ribbon-cutting event, its use in law enforcement incidents also was noted.

The operational range of the DPS Southern Utah Aero Bureau covers the southern parts of the state and toward the Moab area and across state lines if needed.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mori Kessler serves as a Senior Reporter for St. George News, having previously contributed as a writer and Interim Editor in 2011-12, and an assistant editor from 2012 to mid-2014. He began writing news as a freelancer in 2009 for Today in Dixie, and joined the writing staff of St. George News in mid-2010. He enjoys photography and won an award for photojournalism from the Society of Professional Journalists for a 2018 photo of a bee inspector removing ferals bees from a Washington City home. He is also a shameless nerd and has a bad sense of direction.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @MoriKessler@STGnews

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