LAKE HAVASU CITY, ARIZONA — Last week, Hatzolah Air, based at Sullivan County International Airport, teamed up with Chaverim of Rockland County to locate a missing eight-year-old Jewish boy, Tzion Maron, in the Coconino National Forest just outside of Flagstaff, Arizona. After being missing for over 20 hours, Maron was found just before noon Arizona time on Thursday, August 22. 

According to published reports, Maron went missing on Wednesday, August 21 at 6 p.m. when he and his family were making their way out of Lava Cave, a popular subterranean trail in the park. 

Maron’s mother called Chaverim for assistance in finding the young boy who resides in Baltimore with his family. Hatzolah Air President and CEO Eli Rowe said that they were contacted by several different agencies, including Chaverim, at about 11 p.m. on Wednesday, August 21. 

Rowe told the Democrat that they flew out from the airport, on a plane which he piloted a 14-member team, at about 5 a.m. before arriving in Arizona at about 8 a.m. local Arizona time. After arriving, Rowe stated that it took them about an hour and a half to get to the site of where the boy went missing, as it was deep into the forest. 

“We received a warm welcome from the local Sheriff’s Department and teamed up with different Hatzolah departments around the world to locate the boy,” said Rowe. “We set up a command center on scene and used three search-and-rescue drones to scan the area.”

Rowe said that after about an hour and 15 minutes of searching the area and watching the drone footage on screens in the command center, they found Maron alert and well just outside the first-priority search zone established by the Coconino County Sheriff’s Department. According to Rowe, that was before noon last Thursday.

Hatzolah of Los Angeles, a team of volunteers from various Baltimore organizations and other volunteers also participated in the search. 

“The boy was totally petrified, cold and wet after it had rained the night before,” Rowe said. “He was all alone out in the forest, but this could have been a story that had a horrible ending. Thank God he was found alive and well and nothing bad happened to him.”

Rowe noted that there were exceptional emotions displayed by all parties involved when Maron was found. Maron was checked out by Hatzolah Air paramedics and Hatzolah of Los Angeles at the scene before being transported to a local hospital for evaluation. 

Rowe concluded, “There are no words to describe the happiness and joy felt in reuniting a child with his family.”