It was just after 11 PM on August 21st when Chaverim of Rockland coordinator Yossi Margaretten’s cell phone started to ring.
Despite being in the middle of an appreciation dinner for his members, Margaretten took the call from a desperate mother who told him that her son had been missing for three hours after a family visit to Lava River Cave, a 3,820 foot long lava tube located in the Arizona’s Coconino National Forest.
“She was crying,” Margaretten said. “She said they had been searching for three hours and they couldn’t find him.”
Margaretten reached out to Eli Rowe of Hatzolah Air, who didn’t hesitate for a moment when asked if he would be willing to send a plane out to the West Coast.
“He told me whatever we needed, he would do,” recalled Margaretten.
Interrupting the dinner, Margaretten explained the situation to his volunteers, telling them that he needed to assemble an elite team of volunteers to go out to Flagstaff.
“There were only 14 seats on the plane, so we took the best of the best, including our drone team,” noted Margaretten.
The Chaverim volunteers assembled at Sullivan County Airport at 3 AM, where Rowe had a plane fueled and ready to take off. Members davened Shachris on the plane, using a small Sefer Torah that had just been completed four days earlier.
“It was the first time it had ever been used, and it was very emotional,” said Margaretten.
The Chaverim team was welcomed warmly by members of the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office, who had been searching all night for eight year old Tzion Maron. Rainy weather had hampered their overnight efforts and kept their search helicopters grounded, although there were many buzzing overhead in the air as the Chaverim team arrived.
Members of the sheriff’s office told Margaretten that they had called Rockland County Sheriff James Falco to inquire about the Orthodox and Chasidic volunteers who were coming to their aid.
“He told us that the sheriff told them that we were the best of the best, and they were waiting for us with open arms,” said Margaretten. “Before we went into the woods, I told the members that we were here for a special mission, and if we do our hishtadlus then the Ribono Shel Olam helps.”
Volunteers split up into groups and went into the woods, screaming Tzion’s name in the hopes that he would answer, while back in Monsey, Chaverim members gathered at the tzion of the Ribnitzer Rebbe and davened for the boy’s safe return.
By Margaretten’s estimate, his members had been searching for an hour and forty minutes when Tzion heard their cries and answered them. The Chaverim team raced over to the boy, who was lying on the ground and weak, but otherwise in good health. Despite the many hours that had passed, Tzion was just over a half a mile from the entrance to the caves when he was found.
“He told us that he thought he was following his father out to the parking lot and that his mother was behind him, but he missed a turn,” said Margaretten. “It was only a five minute walk to the parking lot, but he ended up in the woods. He was walking around, but didn’t know where to go. Eventually, he got tired and just lay down on the ground.”
There was a joyful family reunion as Chaverim brought Tzion out of the woods, with the Marons sharing hugs and tears.
Out in the parking lot, the many volunteers from Chaverim of Rockland, as well as those from Chaverim of Los Angeles, Chaverim Arizona, Hatzolah Air and Hatzolah of Los Angeles, sang and danced jubilantly, sending messages of gratitude heavenward for the boy’s safe rescue.
In addition to locating missing hikers in nearby parks, as well as upstate, Chaverim of Rockland have been involved in multiple high profile rescue efforts, including the tragic 2019 search for Rabbi Reuven Bauman in Virginia Beach.
Reflecting on the past 24 hours, Margaretten was quick to credit the many people who were responsible for finding Tzion.
“Our members did an awesome job, as did Eli Rowe, who with a single phone call arranged an expensive trip, picking up a plane and letting us take it over, and Hatzolah of Los Angeles, who drove seven hours and brought a command center,” said Margaretten. “Baruch Hashem, we are grateful to have found him so quickly and gotten him back to his family.”
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