Out-of-towners get trapped by floodwaters at Tonto National Forest

By DAVID CALTABIANO

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    TONTO NATIONAL FOREST, AZ (KTVK) — Trapped by raging flood waters. A Michigan family got an intense lesson in how powerful our summer monsoon storms can be. They got stuck while they were 4-wheeling in the Tonto National Forest yesterday. The family had no idea the monsoon could put their lives in danger. Luckily, first responders were able to save them.

Heavy rain forced this Detroit-area stepdad and daughter to ditch their ATVs in the Tonto National Forest and hide out inside port-a-potties. Little did they know, a flash flood was raging outside, trapping the two near Needle Rock Recreational Site. “It was like out of a movie,” said Ted Chaperon. “Water was racing up and down,” said Harmony Swanson, Chaperon’s stepdaughter.

Chaperon and Swanson have visited Arizona before and this trip was meant to improve a relationship. Chaperon saw rain on the forecast but the out-of-towner thought it would come and go. He never expected a massive flash flood. “I didn’t know the severity,” said Lauren Swanson, Chaperon’s wife and Swanson’s mother. Lauren was getting their calls of help so she called the ATV company they rented from. An employee found where they were trapped and called 911. “And I’m really freaking out., because I’m like what is happening,” said Lauren Swanson.

Luckily, first responders saved them by helicopter. “I wish I got their names, they almost felt like angels,” said Chaperon. And Lauren said what’s also heaven-sent is that this close call brought her husband and daughter together. “That’s my belief, that maybe this made them closer,” said Lauren Swanson.

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