AZDPS Ranger Helicopter Crew Helps Mohave County Find Wanted Suspect

Golden Valley, Arizona — On November 15, 2016, an AZDPS Ranger Helicopter crew was requested by the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office to assist in the search for a suspect wanted for trespassing that was last seen on foot running in the desert in Golden Valley. A concerned citizen followed the suspect and provided vital information via 911 to dispatchers. 

AZDPS Ranger 56 and its crew flew to the scene, conducted an aerial search for the suspect, located him in the desert and then guided Sheriff’s Deputies to his location. Ranger 56 remained overhead until the man was taken into custody. Deputies noticed that the man needed immediate advanced life support care and relayed that information to the Ranger 56 crew. 

Ranger conducted a confined space landing and a AZDPS Trooper-Paramedic treated the man identified as Jonathan Putt, 39. Putt was flown to Kingman Regional Medical Center for further treatment. Ranger’s trooper-paramedic remained at the hospital with the patient/suspect until a deputy arrived and took over custody of him. 

Putt was eventually booked into the Mohave County Jail by deputies on a criminal charge of trespassing in the first degree.

“Assistance from the public is invaluable when every minute a suspect is on the loose makes it less likely they will be apprehended and in this case, he was also in need of life-saving medical care,” said Terence Miyauchi, the Aviation Commander at AZDPS.  

To learn more about DPS Aviation click here: http://www.azdps.gov/about/Organization/Highway_Patrol/Aviation/