Beyond The Badge

Ranger Jeff Arbon is a Utah State Park Ranger for the Utah Division of Parks and Recreation. In July 2016 in the heat of the summer Jeff was finishing a shift and heard on the dispatch radio of a distressed mountain biker on the Poison Spider Mesa trail. There was a call for a helicopter rescue but dispatch needed on the ground verification by either SAR personnel or law enforcement. Jeff knows the terrain very well so he returned to work, loaded his motorcycle and headed to the trail head. Jeff found the distressed mountain biker about 6 to 7 miles into the backcountry in the late stages of heat stroke. Jeff confirmed with dispatch the need for a helicopter rescue and as a trained First Responder Jeff doused the biker with water and monitored him closely. With the helicopter in sight the mountain biker stopped breathing and lost a pulse. Jeff immediately began performing CPR and was quickly helped by the medical personnel from the helicopter crew.  After about 20 minutes of performing ALS on the distressed m