It lasted several days. As it turned out the victims did indeed get lost. They missed the Sutherland Trail and wandered out of the Canyon del Oro into a ranch house near the town of Oracle. The rancher, always happy to help fellow horse folk in need, fed them steak dinners and made them comfortable in his home until transportation back to the park could be arranged. If you anticipate defeat, you make it likely.
Pessimistic searchers are poor searchers.
Optimistic searchers always win because anticipating success renders it both more likely, and all the sweeter when it is attained. In recent times the effects of stress upon volunteer emergency workers has received much attention. What you need to understand is that everyone feels stress to some degree, be it a major problem or a minor annoyance. So too do you need to understand that stress is a problem that cuts across all lines. A state of increasing or sustained levels of emotional turmoil resulting from ones involvement in one or more emergency operations.