Moab rescue podcast wins Murrow award, advances to national competition
A Moab podcast built from real canyon rescues won a Murrow Award and moved on to national judging, with stories from Castleton Tower to Hurrah Pass.
In Moab, where a wrong turn can turn a hike, river run or climb into a full-scale rescue, a podcast built from those close calls won the 2026 Regional Edward R. Murrow Award and advanced to national competition.
“Back From Beyond,” produced by KZMU Moab Community Radio with Grand County Search and Rescue, the Moab Office of Tourism and Grand County Active Transportation and Trails, was honored in the podcast category for treating real incidents as public-service journalism instead of spectacle. The Radio Television Digital News Association says Murrow Awards recognize excellence in broadcast and digital journalism and judge work on ethics, technical expertise and public-service impact. Regional winners move on to national judging, with winners announced in August and celebrated at a gala Oct. 12 at Gotham Hall in New York City.
That format fits canyon country, where Grand County Search and Rescue says it is the busiest search and rescue team in Utah and county materials describe specialized technical rope, winter and river rescue capability under the Grand County Sheriff’s Office. The podcast’s first season, which debuted in 2025, told seven real rescue stories from southeastern Utah, including climbers stranded on Castleton Tower, backcountry skiers in the La Sal Mountains, a BASE jumper injured in rugged terrain and an off-roader’s rollover at Hurrah Pass.
The series was built around firsthand accounts from the people who needed help, along with rescuers, paramedics, medical helicopter crews and other first responders who handled each incident. Molly Marcello said the project is meant to reduce death and injury in the backcountry by showing the decision-making on both sides of a rescue, not just the dramatic moment when help arrives. She has also pointed to simple preparation steps that can change an outcome fast: extra water, a first aid kit, a headlamp, an extra layer, a satellite phone and telling someone where you are going.
The Murrow honor was the podcast’s second recognition this year, after a category win in the 2026 Podcast of the Year Awards from AmericanWritingAwards.com in March. Fundraising for a second season is continuing, and the attention reflects how strongly these stories land in a place where a single choice can decide whether a day in the desert ends with a summit, a shuttle or a search team on the move.
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