A small Kingman, Arizona-based school notified parents on Friday that several students had to be rescued by authorities the day before after they ran out of water during a hiking field trip at a trailhead a few miles from the Nevada state line.
Catherine Normoyle, administrator of the Marvelous Microschool, said in a four-page letter dated Friday that was obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal that a student had called to initiate the eventual multi-agency search and rescue mission. As well, the school had received two citations from the National Park Service, she said.
Some began to feel ill about two miles from the parking lot. One child was admitted to a nearby hospital but was discharged Thursday night and is “100% fine,” the letter stated.
“I am sure by this point many of you saw the news regarding our hiking trip yesterday,” the letter said. “If you haven’t, then this information may come as quite a shock, but bear with me.”
Normoyle’s account differed from a Thursday social media post by the Lake Mead National Recreation Area that stated rangers had responded to a “large-scale” rescue earlier in the day involving 28 hikers, three of which were described as adults and “25 children with special needs” not adequately prepared to reach the nearby Arizona Hot Springs. A spokesperson told the Review-Journal on Thursday the post also acted as the agency’s official statement on the matter.
Lake Mead is managed by the National Park Service, the agency that led Thursday’s rescue. Numerous first responder vehicles from multiple agencies including the park service had responded to the scene. A helicopter was also on site.
The park service did not respond to a request for comment on Friday.
Normoyle said the field trip consisted of 10 adults and 18 students. “Three students are identified as special needs per their education, but not outside of that,” according to the letter.
Normoyle said each student was asked to bring a gallon of water and the school itself “had brought over 100 bottles of water to distribute to students who did not bring enough” in addition to powdered hydration packets and food.
Eventually, a student decided to call authorities.
“Would I have liked to have been consulted first? Yes,” Normoyle’s letter states. “However, the students did what they thought was right. I applaud them for that.”
Normoyle continued: “What the student was unaware of is that we did have a plan for those students who were struggling, and that plan had already been enacted.”
Normoyle said they received citations for “creating a hazardous condition” and for failing to obtain a permit for leading a party with more than 20 people.
The Marvelous Microschool describes itself on its website as offering small classroom settings for K-12 students. Students are encouraged to participate in at least one field trip per month, the website states.
But the school will no longer consider hikes for future field trips, Normoyle said.
“One day we may resume them, but not soon,” she said. Normoyle said she’s also implementing stricter permission standards for future field trips. “This is an unfortunate event, and I am sorry it happened.”
Thursday’s field trip came one day after a hiker from a separate party died Wednesday on the Arizona Hot Springs Trail “in what is suspected to be a heat-related incident,” according to the social media post from the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. Five others belonging to that group “who were also experiencing heat distress” needed to be evacuated by helicopter, the post said.
A webpage maintained by the park service describes the White Rock Canyon Trail as a 6.5 mile “out-and-back” with approximately 885 feet of elevation change. The trail is not maintained and is considered a “strenuous” difficulty. The trail also connects to the Arizona Hot Springs trail.
Thursday’s temperature near the trailhead reached 97 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. The park service’s post from Thursday also indicated that temperatures in that area were expected to exceed triple digits in the coming days and that “many hikers are not adequately prepared for these extreme conditions.”
The post also noted that the Arizona Hot Springs and Goldstrike trails are temporarily closed due to “dangerously high temperatures and multiple heat-related search and rescue incidents.”
Contact Casey Harrison at charrison@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Casey_Harrison1 on X or @casey-harrison.bsky.social on Bluesky.