Mushroom pickers lost for six days

If there ever was a reminder to carry some basic gear, this is it.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/worl...article2326916/

A family of three huddled on the edge of an old-growth Oregon forest for six days, lost and cold, unable to signal search helicopters flying low and slow overhead.

Without food, water or even warm clothing, Belinda and Daniel Conne, along with their 25-year-old son, Michael, survived by drinking water from streams and taking shelter in a hollowed-out tree.

The family told Mr. Bishop they could see helicopters just a few hundred feet above them while they were lost, but couldn't signal rescuers.

When the family was finally found Saturday, they were only 200 yards from the nearest group of searchers. “We were actually right near them all three days” of the search, Mr. Bishop said. In the area's canyons, “you think people can hear you, but they can't.”

Even a small pocket EDC, (lighter, 6ft cord, whistle, photonlight, etc) would have made a tremendous difference. Glad they made it out okay.

Yikes! They really lucked out. I'm glad that despite their complete lack of preparation all were found alive and well.

The ability to at least light a fire should be a high priority in anyone's EDC, especially when outdoors. This is a good lesson. If they ahd carried a whistle and a signal mirror we would not be reading about them. The weight involved is, maybe, eight ounce

I guess this is just another exampe of how hazardous mushrooms can be....

Whistle, mirror, fire, knife and cordage could all have made a huge difference to them.

Wizard of Oz quotes

Yikes! What a nightmare. Jackets and two more dogs in the Jeep. Thank goodness the searchers were persistent.

I like to think that each news story like this inspires at least a few other peops to be more prepared in the future.

I'm far more prepared just walking out my front door, thanks to the car key chain which includes a firesteel, striker and e-PICO light. And my house key lanyard includes a whistle and e-PICO. Also have Doug's MK-5 knife in the inside of three winter jackets.

Thanks for posting the article.

I've had a few modest forays into the PNW landscape, and the density of vegetation makes it terribly easy to get turned around and/or disappear forever. Even in fairly well populated territory (don't ask).

According to the article, they're not the first (by far) to get into trouble in this area.

Add a dense overhead canopy, and you have a real problem. Even if you could make fire, how much smoke would it take to make yourself seen?

I can only imagine the sinking feeling (and increasing urgency) of the searchers when they saw the trail of debris, which were all useful items. This to my mind would signal decreasing capacity and condition of the lost party.

BTW, aren't there some more current updates? The link I posted is an AP story from more than 24 hrs. ago.

The neat thing about a fire is that it isn't just visual. On more than one occasion we have sniffed our way to a fire and successfully concluded a SAR, following the smoke long before we got a visual.

Another factor is the psychological boost a fire imparts, in addition to providing physical warmth, ability to purify water, cook, etc.

What irks me the most is,these people came from Oklahoma & drive a Jeep.Preparedness is Elementary in Oklahoma is it not?& Being a Jeep owner is Elementary to knowing your vehicle can take you wayyy out into the boonies,most of the time,So one carries things at All times to get you out of the boonies,Yet these Morel picking morons had the brains to know which mushrooms to pick,of which could be deadly in itself if wrong,but couldn't even think about where they were!I don't know if they could have the capacity to know,that this is a Good lesson learned!

The campsite manager gets a salute for sounding the alarm after the family had been gone for two days. His awareness and willingness to act were IMO decisive factors in this positive outcome.

For lack of a $4 compass from WalMart. Or a lighter.

Again we see the true value of even the minimal contents of a small psk, or even just a couple of EDC things.

But being old and getting cynical, I wonder about these folks. It suggests a war story from my military days that goes something like this:
Net Control: Where are you?
Operator: We don’t know—we are lost!
Net Control: Have you checked your map?
Operator: We left the maps back at the barracks.


Glad they were found OK. But I really wonder.
By the way, they did have a cell phone (dead, apparently) and a fixed blade knife, and considered "eating their dog" (but could not start a fire). Their story also seems to indicate they spoke to another mushroom picker while they were lost.
Here is a link to the story:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...eating-DOG.html

Good article on the helo pilot who located them:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-bc-us--herochopperpilot,0,6862266.story

Strangely enough if you are on this forum you are already part of a small elite that actually prepares themselves for a Survival Situation. How may of these same article do we all come across in the average year. 15 to 20 on average. Of these only 3 to 5 seemed to have prepared themselves in any way.

"Good lesson learned!", but who learned it except for them and us?

Hard to say. For some, it will roll off like water off a duck. For others, it will confirm that the woods is a big, bad, scary place where bad things happen.

For a few, though, it will inspire a few second thoughts, and perhaps the first steps in the right direction. The simplest of things -- a bit of awareness and a few basic preps -- can tip the balance.