An Academy Award-winning animator was safely airlifted from an East Valley mountain after he became ill while hiking Wednesday morning.
A 72-year-old hiker who experienced a medical emergency on the top of Mummy Mountain in Paradise Valley was rescued on July 29.
Glen Keane was hiking with family members before realizing at the peak that he had overexerted himself.
Shortly after 8 a.m., Phoenix firefighters received reports of a hiker having a medical emergency on top of Mummy Mountain, located near Tatum Boulevard and Lincoln Drive in Paradise Valley.
“Crews made contact with an adult male at the summit of the mountain,” Capt. Todd Keller said. “The hiker stated that he was feeling ill and couldn’t continue his descent.”
The 72-year-old man, since identified as Glen Keane, was stuck on a ridge on top of the mountain. He was reportedly feeling dizzy and couldn’t make his way back down.
The hiker was alert but couldn’t walk himself down with the assistance of firefighters.
The rescue operation required specialized equipment.
Firefighters set up a steep rope angle system, which allows crews to safely set up a hoist operation to airlift Keane off the mountain.
The AZFamily news chopper witnessed crews tending to Keane before he was hoisted into Phoenix Firebird 10’s helicopter.
He was flown to the base of the mountain where he was checked by paramedics, but didn’t need further medical treatment.
Keane had come back to the Valley from overseas with his kids and grandkids.
Keane says he used to climb Mummy Mountain as a teenager. He came back to the Valley from overseas with his kids and grandkids so they could see it for themselves.
But now at age 72, Keane says he got to the top of the mountain and realized he bit off more than he could chew.
“Well, my daughter Claire and the kids were all easily maneuvering and there’s like me and as soon as I do that, my legs will stop shaking, start shaking my arms, and I knew that I had just spent all of my energy hiking up through the mountain, and it wasn’t going to get better,” Keane said.
The animator offered perspective on his ordeal.
When asked what he would do after such an eventful morning, Keane, who now lives in France, said that now he has a great story to tell his wife.
Keane is a longtime Disney animator whose credits include “Beauty and the Beast,” “Aladdin,” “The Little Mermaid” and many more.
He won an Oscar for best animated short in 2018 alongside the late NBA legend Kobe Bryant for “Dear Basketball.”
His father was Bill Keane, the famous cartoonist who created the comic strip “The Family Circus.”
Fire officials used the incident to remind the public about hiking safety risks.
Phoenix Fire Capt. Todd Keller shared a reminder about the dangers of hiking during days when extreme heat warnings have been issued. “You’re not only putting yourself at danger, you’re also putting your firefighters and your first responders at danger.”
“You need to do a gut check and say, ‘Hey listen, is it really smart for me to be out on this trail when it’s 93 degrees at seven in the morning?'” Keller added.
In the viral moment that captured the dramatic rescue, Keane found himself exhausted after an early morning hike with his family members. What began as a nostalgic return to a mountain he had climbed as a teenager turned into a medical emergency when he realized partway up that his energy was depleted. With his daughter Claire and grandchildren managing the steep terrain without difficulty, Keane’s physical exhaustion left him unable to descend safely. The situation forced firefighters to deploy specialized rope systems and a helicopter to airlift him from the ridge at the mountain’s summit.
“This was just a real blessing to have that crew,” Keane told Arizona’s Family. “And they were really risking their own lives on the edge of that narrow little ledge. I mean, it was very much just like a razor’s edge up there.”