http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,234281,00.html

.......took a shortcut, got stuck in the snow ...............
no food or water in their car.
.......the father struck out for help, he left wearing only tennis shoes, pants, a sweater and a jacket. His family said he had outdoor experience, and Oregon State Police Lt. Doug Ladd said there is "a very reasonable chance" that he is still alive.



there are conflicting reports, one san francisco chronicle story says they had some food and snacks to survive on -- guess they did good with what they had -- lucky at least 3 survived, unknown about the father

People make mistakes, thats they way life is. Sometimes your prepared sometimes your not, whats important is you continue on living. Hope they find the guy.

Having been on some of the roads in that area, I can understand how they got lost, what I can't understand is how they got there in the first place. We are talking dirt USFS roads, many of which are not on any maps, other than USFS and BLM maps. I think that I know the answer to my own question, but I can't say it here...

Well, I have about one person a week come up my driveway thinking it is a road, so I can see why someone would think that an unmarked dirt road might be their turn. Then they don't/can't turn around, and keep going, making things worse.

Having done that myself once or twice, I can't fault anyone for it.

glad they were rescued and really hope the father is found quickly and in good health. having said that, i wonder why they didn't start a signal fire. or use a car/cosmetic mirror to signal. at least their ordeal might remind others to prepare before traveling this holiday season. i'd like to know more of the details though to think of what they might have done in order to be found more quickly.

Part of my statement was based upon what I have heard on the Seattle TV stations (we are in the boonies, kind of, in NW Washington right now, no paper, only three local TV stations), which have been stating that they were en route from the Seattle area home to San Francisco. In that case they were waaayyyy off of the most direct route. Then a minute ago I read here that they were on their way to Gold Beach, "traveling in Oregon," and decided to take "the scenic route" (that'll get you almost every time). That makes a little bit more sense on how they came to be lost where they were.

So much for accurate reporting by the TV (nothing new there, I know)...

*shakes head* Scenic routes are still scenic not because they have great views, but becuase they are hard to get to. If they were easy to reach, some *beep* developer would have plowed things level, cut down the trees and paved things over to put subdivisions with street lights, minimalls and cellphone towers there.

If you don't know the scenic route, bad weather and night are not times to try them out.

I seen on the news tonight the whole story. They are confident they will find him. He burned tires for heat which was interesting. They found his tracks with bear tracks near them. I hope they find this guy.

Maybe he's seen Survivorman....