YAVAPAI COUNTY, Ariz. — The Yavapai County Sheriff's Office is investigating the death of an Arizona man who was found dead during a camping trip with his 6-year-old son.
Deputies were dispatched Sunday night to the Lawrence Crossing campground near Rimrock for reports of a man found deceased in a creek.
VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL: Un padre de familia fue encontrado muerto mientras acampaba con su pequeño hijo en Arizona
Deputies learned that a 51-year-old man and his son had traveled up to Yavapai County from Tucson to camp for a couple of days. A relative reported getting a phone call from the father stating that they were lost.
YCSO said the relative drove out to Lawrence Crossing and found the father face down in a creek. The son told YCSO that his father fell backwards into the creek and "wouldn't get out."
The child was reunited with his mother and YCSO is continuing to investigate the incident.
UP TO SPEED
What is the Valley?:
“The Valley” is what locals call the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is considered the largest metropolitan area in the Southwest.
The Valley is made up of various major cities other than Phoenix, including:
- Mesa
- Chandler
- Scottsdale
- Tempe
- Glendale
- Surprise
- Peoria
- Gilbert
- El Mirage
- Avondale
- Litchfield Park
- Goodyear
- Buckeye
Whether a city is in the “East Valley” or “West Valley” depends on where it is in relation to Phoenix.
The cities of the Valley have a combined population of 4,845,832 people, according to the 2020 United States Census. This makes it the 11th largest metropolitan area in the country right behind the Boston and Atlanta areas.
How big is Maricopa County?
Maricopa County is the United States’ 4th largest county in terms of population with 4,485,414 people, according to the 2020 Census.
The county contains around 63% of Arizona’s population and is 9,224 square miles. That makes the county larger than seven U.S. states (Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New Hampshire).
One of the largest park systems in the nation is also located in Maricopa County. The county has an estimated 120,000 acres of open space parks that includes hundreds of miles of trails, nature centers and campgrounds.
The county’s seat is located in Phoenix, which is also the state capital and the census-designated 5th most populous city in the United States.
The county was named after the Maricopa, or Piipaash, Native American Tribe.
