(CALVERAS COUNTY, CA) — A mother and her 9-year-old son, who got stranded in a remote forest overnight on their way to a Boy Scout camp in California, were rescued after crews searching for the missing family found handwritten notes by the woman asking for help, authorities said.
Authorities credited the notes and other “breadcrumbs” left for search crews in helping find them within hours of being reported missing.
The two were traveling from Sacramento to Camp Wolfeboro in Calaveras County on Friday afternoon when they got lost in a remote area after losing the GPS signal, authorities said. The 49-year-old mother became disoriented trying to retrace their steps, and their vehicle got stuck in the dirt, stranding them in the dense forestry, according to Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Lt. Greg Stark.
“It was a very remote location, with severe terrain, deep canyons, dense forestry,” Stark told ABC News. “That area is known for poor radio reception and poor cell service.”
Their family reported them missing early Saturday afternoon after the camp reported them overdue and they were not answering their cellphones, according to the sheriff’s office.
A volunteer search and rescue team that was already conducting training in the area was deployed, and authorities began working on a timeline and possible route based on their destination and last known location.
The search and rescue team “began assessing the terrain and the complex network of interconnecting, labyrinth-like roads to establish effective search parameters,” the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office said. The search involved four-wheel drive vehicles, and California Highway Patrol air assets were requested, the office said.
Amid the search, campers in the area reported seeing a vehicle matching the description of the missing persons around 4 p.m. on Friday — helping confirm that search crews were in the right area, the sheriff’s office said.
Helping to further narrow the search area: At approximately 5:40 p.m. Saturday, the search and rescue team located a handwritten note left by the mother asking for help, authorities said. It was posted at an intersection of a remote Forest Service Road. A second note was found nearby.
The sheriff’s office released images of the notes, which were both dated July 11 and both said “HELP.”
“Me and my son are stranded with no service and can’t call 911,” one of the notes stated. “We are ahead, up the road to the right. Please call 911 to get help for us. Thank you!”
The other note urged rescuers to “follow the strips of brown sheet,” which was made out of a paper bag, Stark said.
They also left a trail of rocks on the road to point in their direction in case the notes blew away, Stark said.
About a mile from the second note, at approximately 6:30 p.m. Saturday, the searchers found the mother and son and their vehicle, the sheriff’s office said.
Stark credited the notes with being “extremely helpful” in finding them so quickly.
“There’s hundreds of square miles of elaborate roadworks out there,” Stark said. “They were in the search area, but putting the handwritten notes posted at the intersections — that absolutely accelerated the timeline in which they were found.”
The search team was able to free the stuck vehicle and help bring the mother and son back to the command post, where their family was waiting for them, the sheriff’s office said.
“It was obviously a very emotional reunion,” Stark said.
The sheriff’s office highlighted other efforts by the woman and her son to assist in the search, including keeping the vehicle’s hazard lights on at night for searchers on the ground and in the air to see. The son also periodically used his whistle to deploy three short bursts, an international signal for help, the sheriff’s office said.
Staying with their vehicle was also a key move, Stark said.
“If you don’t know where you are, you don’t know where you’re going, the best course of action is to stay with your car — it’s the largest object out there, easily seen by aircraft or found by searchers,” Stark said.
“They did what they should have, and it certainly worked out well,” he said.
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