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Couple lost for ten days in Rv in NV


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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10695961/Indiana-woman-rescued-Nevada-mountainside-reveals-husband-got-LOST-following-GPS.html

I have been following this for a week. They made a WHOLE lot of very simple mistakes that added up to personal disaster. They were not even able to backtrack properly in their TOAD, and that also got stuck on a side track…. Please, don’t follow your gps blindly, and never venture into the remote boonies without a satellite communicator and adequate emergency supplies. This spot is truly remote.

John Davies

Spokane WA

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SOLD 07/23 "Mouse":  2017 Legacy Elite II Two Beds, Hull Number 218, See my HOW TO threads: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/john-e-davies-how-to-threads-and-tech-articles-links/

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A very sad story.  Definitely a lot of lessons here for anyone traveling in remote areas.   And a good reason to travel with a full fresh water tank and some basic non-perishable food/canned goods in the pantry.  With the 30 gallons of fresh water in the Ollie, and some basic food supplies you could go for a month (or more) in survival mode with water rationing.   Maybe I’m overly paranoid 🙂 but every one of our vehicles in the family has a very complete kit of survival basics, plus I usually have a bug-out bag as well when traveling anywhere.  Too many sad stories like these folks, or even just the winter snowstorm back in January that had people stuck on I-95 in Virginia for over 24 hours. 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/01/04/winter-storm-power-outages-interstate-95-virginia/9087146002/

 

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And, of course, leaving the RV in the little car made them harder to spot. Rescuers found the RV first, then followed the tire tracks to the car. Much easier to see a 30' motorhome from the air than a small car.

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Stephanie and Dudley from CT.  2022 LE2, Hull #1150: Eggcelsior.

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53 minutes ago, Steph and Dud B said:

Much easier to see a 30' motorhome from the air than a small car.

 This is such a very sad case. 

I read about the wife climbing the hill with her walker, to scoop snow with her mask, for water.  My heart broke, thinking of my mom and her limited mobility, using a walker. So incredibly sad. And, dangerous, for her.

Also extremely dangerous, to abandon the rv with no supplies in the little car.  I would agree, they'd have been better off in the rv.

Advice on abandoning ship is always to stay with the boat, if it's floating, even if it's turtled. Tough to spot people bobbing about at sea, as well. A friend  of mine learned that many years ago, when their boat rapidly  sank. They huddled together (6 people, three life jackets grabbed as the boat went down) around an igloo cooler. No epirb.  They all survived, after 14 hours  in the water, but several boats passed them, not seeing them in the distance. 

They had no "float plan" with friends or relatives.  No one looking for them. Cell phones destroyed by immersion. No waterproof lights, no flares, no mirror,  no waterproof communication,  no ditch bag, no life raft, nothing. They were just going out for an overnight trip.

Finally their group was rescued when a palm frond floating by was grabbed, a t shirt stuck on top, and a fishing boat in the distance saw them waving desperately.  Their story still makes me shudder. 

So, don't blindly trust gps directions. Look ahead on maps. Think it through. Carry enough stuff to keep alive for awhile. And, consider emergency waterproof beacon/communication gear. 

These incidents don't have to end in tragedy. And they shouldn't.  But, sometimes they do.

I know others have talked about emergency evacuation strategies,  for fire and storm. That's important,  too.  If you want to camp in the boonies, you do need strategies. And  a satellite communication device can be a big help.

At the least, file a plan with a friend or relative. Heck, I have orders from my mom to call her when I get home, 6 miles away. It's not unreasonable.  And, its about the love, and safety.

 

 

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We did a live aboard dive trip in 2010 on the Great Barrier Reef.  One of the requirements was that every diver have a "safety sausage".   An inflatable tube about 8 feet long by 6" in diameter.  Easy to blow up and hold vertically above the water.   One pair of divers came up a long way from the boat (after I was aboard) and inflated it and it was so easy to see.    Without it.. not so much.  The zodiac picked them up.    I never... never..  go diving without one now.  

Safety equipment is a must.  This is a sad story and I will admit that after the first reports of them being found I was sure it was foul play.    I hope others will learn from their mistake.  

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Gregg & Donna Scott and Missy the Westie  -    The Flying Sea Turtle - Hull # 145     Western NC

 

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