Story Update
 

Story Update

Ruled an accident

http://www.rgj.com/article/20090811/...1026/1321/news

"LAS VEGAS (AP) — A coroner’s spokeswoman says the 11-year-old boy who died after getting stranded with his mother for several days near California’s Death Valley perished from dehydration and heat exposure........."


Little more details in this story:

http://www.lvrj.com/news/52948912.html

"......The boy was dying or already dead by the time the two were reported missing Wednesday evening by family members in Ohio......."

Here is a link to a Park Map.

http://www.nps.gov/deva/planyourvisi.../DEVAmap1a.pdf

Go way down to the bottom of the park and then look west. You'll see Trona. From the looks of it I'd guess there was a range of hills between the town and park. Also, that section of the park is wayyyy out in the middle of nowhere.

Hard Lessons
 

I feel sorry for the people involved but question her judgement and knowledge.

I learned a very hard lesson out in Joshua Tree one time when I much younger an dumber.

Always take more water than you think you are going to need. If I were her I would have taken at least two jerry cans full of water but probably more.

As Pete said, know the limitations of what you can and can't do with your vehicle.

Have some type of survival/rescue plan that involves non electronic means of communication. Large fire, tracers, fireworks etc.

She should have left some type of flight plan.

The Desert is just as interesting and more pleasant during the cooler months.

Snagged
 

Snagged from a DV forum.

"Death Valley National Park (CA)
Boy Dies Of Exposure, Mother Survives

Rangers received several phone calls from concerned family members on the evening of August 5th regarding the failure of a woman and her son to return from a camping trip in the park. Alicia Sanchez, 28, a traveling nurse, was scheduled to report back to her current assignment at a Las Vegas hospital that evening, but hadn t yet appeared. The family reported that she d planned to come to the park with her 11-year-old son to camp and visit Scotty s Castle, and that she d sent a text message on August 1st saying that she was in the desert and changing a flat tire. Ranger Matt Martin checked the high elevation campgrounds in the Panamint Mountains (Wildrose, Mahogany Flats, and Thorndike) and district ranger Aaron Shandor checked the Furnace Creek campground and the surrounding developed area neither with any success. Rangers then began planning for a full-scale search beginning at first light on Thursday August 6th, including the use of a VX-31 SAR helicopter from China Lake Naval Air Station. The VX-31, with rangers providing ground support, began searching the south end of the park at 6 a.m., as did other rangers and members of the Civil Air Patrol.

At 10 a.m., ranger Amber Nattrass came upon a wheel rim with a flat tire and a water bottle on a dirt road leading into the Owlshead Mountains at the southwest corner of the park. Only one set of tire tracks were seen. Nattrass followed this set of tire tracks and discovered that the vehicle had left the established roadway and been driven into designated wilderness. Nattrass continued to follow the tracks and found Sanchez s vehicle just after 11 a.m. She found the woman conscious but suffering from exposure and severe dehydration; her son had not survived. Nattrass, a park medic, began treating Sanchez after requesting a medevac. VX-31 with paramedics on board responded, and they began assisting Nattrass with medical care. A medevac helicopter from Mercy Air in Pahrump, Nevada, arrived and transported Sanchez to Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas. Nattrass was later joined by rangers Scott Bagocious and Mike Nattrass, and an Inyo County sheriff s deputy. San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department investigators arrived later in the afternoon. San Bernadino County is leading the investigation. Lake Mead is providing CISM support. [Submitted by Brent Pennington, Chief Ranger] .."

The flat tire/rim and water bottle was discarded?

I'm sorry, you all may have been right. This chick must have had something else running through her mind.

And our old friend Mr GPS had a hand in this also.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...pGIcwD99UBDVG0

I'll never go to the desert without my steel wool, 9-volt battery, and jar of honey ever again!* :rolleyes:

Richard's $.02 :munchin

* Inside QP joke.

Richard,

Don't forget your Discovery Channel TV crew, or your cool made-up for TV "nom de guerre"! :D

Already got a deal in the works with Canal 5 out of France under the name of Jacques Strapez - watch for it! :p

Richard's $.02 :munchin

Yep.... Something does not smell right on this one. They started off with 12 quarts of water.... Its not a lot in that environment but Im wondering if the boy got any of it....

Wasn't there at all, but her being a nurse should mean that she does know about dehydration, heat stroke, and the entire cascade towards death. Also, folks who adore motherhood in the OB-peds class always told me they'd give up their life for their children.

The desert claims two more
 

The Desert claims two more - or How to kill yourself in less than seven hours.

Two tourists killed by heat stroke after getting out of car to go for help in California desert

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz1W5OLEcfO


"..........Augustinus Van Hove, 44, and Helena Nuellet, 38, drove into Joshua Tree National Park before noon on Monday and took a remote, dirt road to head towards Arizona, according to police.

Nearly seven hours later, a couple visiting the park found Mr Van Hove's body on the edge of Black Eagle Mine Road......................"

'Tweren't the desert, it was stupidity or suicide. They were driving a black Dodge Charger on BEMR to ARIZONA! :eek:

Pat

It gets good and hot out there this time of year. Dodge Chargers and sandy desert roads don't mix well. Could they have sat in the car with the air conditioning running until nightfall and then walked back out? Being that they are Europeans they've probably never experienced the California desert in the summertime. Bet they didn't have very much water either. This kind of reminds me of the German family that dissapeared in Death Valley some years back. Their remains weren't found until several years after they went missing. As I stated previously, the Desert is just as nice and a little cooler in the fall and winter.

A tragedy.

A 4X4 only means you get stuck further from help....

As of two weeks ago, there have been 14 heat related deaths here in Dallas County alone. It has been a pretty long, hot summer this year, and now we're into high school football season where the temps on the sports fields can hover around 135 degrees. It has been consistently around 88-90 degrees at 0530 when I go to my boot camp workout - it was 80 degrees this morning...damn near a cold snap.

And so it goes...

Richard :munchin

Sad news indeed...the wife and I were camping in Death Valley two weeks ago. At Furnace Creek Inn at 1800 hrs it was 120F in the shade. At altitude (8000-11,000ft) we hiked Telescope Peak. Beautiful country, but unforgiving. Who would be dumb enough to go off-road with their kid in that environment? Felony Stupid!

Holy cow. It's tragic that what sounds on the surface as a quick attempt for a mom to have a weekend day (for her) off & do some (absent father) male-type bonding with son cascaded in this way. I can only shake my head. Pop tarts & cheese sandwiches. Elementary school cafeteria made the menu? Scouting program anyone?

Pete, good observation on tools. The list of people who've never seen a shepherd's jack gets longer by the minute along with those who think cars always came with a piece of target material as a spare. Mine never get traded away with a vehicle; they're considered other equipment.