Originally Posted By: Susan
She made every possible mistake she could:

* Left no detailed directions where she was going;
Actually, she did. There were "family members' reports that she planned to camp in free sites and visit the Scotty's Castle attraction in the far northeast corner of the vast national park." That's not where she ended up, unfortunately. It looks like she somehow got lost.

She also sent a text message about needing to change a tyre. She was communicating.

Originally Posted By: el_diabl0
I think after the first day I would have traveled by night back the way I came, hoping to get back to the main road.
She didn't have a map or compass, and her GPS was part of the vehicle so she couldn't take it with her. She'd have been navigating blind. I don't know the area, but I imagine there was a risk she'd have ended up going round in circles, or sprained an ankle, or something.

It's worth noting that she was found pretty quickly, once they'd given up looking in the wrong place. Friends gave the alert at 5pm Wednesday, the air and ground search started dawn Thursday, and the woman and her son's body were found about 11 a.m. If she hadn't stayed with her vehicle, she probably wouldn't have been found so easily.
_________________________
Quality is addictive.