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The Guardian
4 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Rescuers find mom and son lost in California forest thanks to ‘help' notes
A mother and her nine-year-old-son who got lost in a remote California forest while on their way to a Boy Scouts camp were rescued after a search crew found notes the pair had left behind. The notes weighed down by rocks with 'HELP' written at the top said they were stranded up the road with no phone service. A volunteer search-and-rescue team that was training in the Sierra Nevada foothills found the pair on Saturday, a day after they had set out for the camp, according to the Calaveras county sheriff's office. The woman and her son got lost on Friday after they left the Sacramento area and their GPS had directed them on to old logging roads deep into the forest, said Lt Greg Stark, a spokesperson for the sheriff's office. They eventually lost their GPS signal and then got stuck about 10 miles (16km) from the nearest paved road, Stark said. They were reported missing the next day after not showing up at the camp. The county's volunteer search team initially narrowed down the pair's last known spot from a location-sharing app and then heard from campers who saw the woman's missing car a day earlier, the sheriff's office said. About four hours after being dispatched, the search team found the first note that read: 'HELP. Me and my son are stranded with no service and can't call 911. We are ahead, up the road to the right. Please call 911 to get help for us. Thank you!' The team found a second note up the road, and then about a mile later they found the woman and her son, where their car had gotten stuck, the sheriff's office said. The pair had spent the night in the car with a cooler full of food and drinks they had packed for a few days at the camp, Stark said. Authorities credited the pair with alerting others where they were going and when they would arrive and staying where they were once they got lost. The boy also used his whistle to sound three short bursts – a signal for help that Scouts are taught. 'They did everything right,' Stark said. 'They put themselves in the best position to be found.'
CTV News
4 days ago
- CTV News
Rescuers find mom and son lost in California forest thanks to notes they left on a remote road
This undated photo provided by the Calaveras County, Calif., Sheriff's Office shows a note that was left by a woman and her 9-year-old-son, who got lost in a California forest while driving to a Boy Scouts camp, and found by rescuers who then located the pair on Saturday, July 12, 2025. (Calaveras County Sheriff's Office via AP) A mother and her 9-year-old-son who got lost in a remote California forest while on their way to a Boy Scouts camp were rescued after a search crew found notes the pair had left behind. The notes weighed down by rocks with 'HELP' written at the top said they were stranded up the road with no phone service. A volunteer search-and-rescue team that was training in the Sierra Nevada foothills found the pair Saturday, a day after they had set out for the camp, according to the Calaveras County Sheriff's Office. The woman and her son got lost on Friday after they left the Sacramento area and their GPS had directed them onto old logging roads deep into the forest, said Lt. Greg Stark, a spokesperson for the sheriff's office. They eventually lost their GPS signal and then got stuck about 10 miles (16 kilometres) from the nearest paved road, Stark said. They were reported missing the next day after not showing up at the camp. The county's volunteer search team initially narrowed down the pair's last known spot from a location-sharing app and then heard from campers who saw the woman's missing car a day earlier, the sheriff's office said. About four hours after being dispatched, the search team found the first note that read: 'HELP. Me and my son are stranded with no service and can't call 911. We are ahead, up the road to the right. Please call 911 to get help for us. Thank you!' The team found a second note up the road, and then about a mile later they found the woman and her son, where their car had gotten stuck, the sheriff's office said. The pair had spent the night in the car with a cooler full of food and drinks they had packed for a few days at the camp, Stark said. Authorities credited the pair with alerting others where they were going and when they would arrive and staying where they were once they got lost. The boy also used his whistle to sound three short bursts — a signal for help that Scouts are taught. 'They did everything right,' Stark said. 'They put themselves in the best position to be found.' John Seewer, The Associated Press
CBS News
4 days ago
- CBS News
Handwritten notes help searchers find mom and son who got lost in dense California forest
A mother and her young son who got lost in a dense California forest were rescued after search crews discovered handwritten notes the woman and boy had left behind, authorities said this week. The notes said "HELP" at the top and included information about where the pair was located, according to images posted on social media by the Calaveras County Sheriff's Office in Northern California. "Me and my son are stranded with no service and can't call 911," one note read. "We are ahead, up the road to the right. Please call 911 to get help for us. Thank you!" The sheriff's office said authorities received a report on Saturday afternoon that the 49-year-old woman and her 9-year-old son left the Sacramento area the day before and were on their way to a Boy Scout camp called Camp Wolfeboro. The mom and son "were overdue and not answering their cellular phones," the sheriff's office said. A volunteer search and rescue team that had been training in the area was deployed to look for them, equipped with information about a possible location noted in a location-sharing app. Later that evening, around 5:40 p.m., the team found a note at a Forest Service road intersection indicating that the mom and her son were stranded, the sheriff's office said. They followed the road and found a second note that listed a telephone number and the names of the mother and son. Searchers found them and their vehicle about a mile away in an isolated, dense forest location. Authorities said they learned that the mother and son had lost GPS signal after driving into the remote area and had been unable to retrace where they came from. They spent a night in their vehicle, with a cooler of drinks and food that they had packed for Camp Wolfeboro, according to Lt. Greg Stark, a spokesperson for the sheriff's office, The Associated Press reported. In an effort to help searchers, the boy had used his whistle "to periodically deploy three short bursts, an international signal for help," the sheriff's office said. They also turned their vehicle's hazard lights on at night. "Of importance in the successful outcome was their pre-trip notification of telling someone where they were going and when to expect them back," the sheriff's office said.
The Independent
4 days ago
- The Independent
Mother and son dramatically rescued in California after authorities discover SOS notes
A pair of handwritten notes helped California authorities track down a missing mother and her young son who were stranded in a dense, remote forest for more than 24 hours. Tami Laird, 49, and her son Stirling, 9, left their Roseville home Friday afternoon to embark on a three-hour journey to Camp Wolfeboro, a children's summer camp along the North Fork of the Stanislaus River, authorities said. The pair, who were identified by the San Francisco Chronicle, followed a GPS route that led them off the beaten path and into a maze of logging trails and forest service roads, where they eventually became lost. Traversing deeper into the woodland, Laird lost signal on her cellphone, making it impossible to retrace their steps. After repeatedly bottoming out, the Laird's Nissan Sentra eventually got stuck, leaving the woman and her son digging at the dirt with their hands as they tried – and failed – to free the vehicle. By luck, Laird had stashed a stack of maps in her car and began to scrawl notes on the back while her son periodically blew a whistle three times in quick succession – an international signal for distress. They also left a trail of rocks on the road to point in their direction in case the notes blew away, Calaveras County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Lieutenant Greg Stark told ABC News. They tore up an old brown sheet and tied strips onto branches so they could find their way back to the car. 'HELP. Me and my son are stranded with no service and can't call 911. We are ahead, up the road to the right. Please call 911 to get help for us. Thank you!,' Laird wrote on one piece of paper, held down by rocks and taped to the road. 'HELP. Me and my son are stranded up the road to the right. Please get help for us. Follow the strips of brown sheet. Thank you,' she penned on another. As night fell, the woman switched on the vehicle's hazards, her son resting next to her. 'I was sick to my stomach,' she said. By 1.20 p.m. on Saturday Calaveras County Sheriff's Office received a missing person report filed by Laird's family after they were unable to get her by phone. A volunteer search and rescue team conducting training in the area was deployed to track down the mother and son. Responders used four-wheeled utility terrain vehicles to scour the network of interconnect roads. During the search, a deputy and a Forest Service ranger received a tip from campers who, on Friday, reported seeing a vehicle matching the description of Laird's Nissan. Early Saturday evening, Tony Fernandez and another volunteer came upon one of Laird's notes along a Forest Service road, urging for help. 'I jokingly said, 'Is that a rock with a note? ' Not thinking she would have thought of that,' Fernandez told the Chronicle. About a mile down the road, the team came across a second note. Laird and her son were found in their vehicle another mile farther down the road, deputies said. The search team was able to free the stuck vehicle and assist in bringing the mother and son back to the command post, where their family was waiting for them, deputies said. Acknowledging that the search and rescue team was in the area, Stark said that the notes 'absolutely accelerated the timeline in which they were found."
BBC News
4 days ago
- BBC News
Mother and son rescued in California forest, left handwritten notes
A mother and her nine-year-old son lost in the rocky mountain forest of Sierra Nevada in the US state of California were rescued thanks to a trail of handwritten notes they left behind - after getting stranded for more than 24 hours.A search and rescue team found the pair on 12 July after discovering multiple notes tucked beneath rocks, left by the mother, aged 49. "HELP. Me and my son are stranded with no service and can't call 911," one said. The pair were found by members of the Calaveras County Volunteer Search and Rescue Team, who already happened to be in the area. The mother told ABC10 it had been a "very scary experience", but paid tribute to the "amazing" efforts of the rescuers. The mission was detailed in a Facebook post by the Calaveras County Sheriff's Office. On 11 July, someone phoned the Calaveras County Dispatch Center and informed officers that the duo were "overdue" to return after departing for Camp Wolfeboro around 11:30 PST (18:30 GMT), the post mother and son were also not responding to phone calls, police were to ABC10, the mother, who identified herself as Tami, confirmed that they were unable to make any calls of their own, and that her son Stirling resorted to blowing his Cub Scout whistle in an effort to gain attention. She had been attempting to drop off Stirling for a camping trip, she police Facebook post said a volunteer search and rescue team already in the area for monthly training was soon deployed. It established a command post along the highway that leads to Wolfeboro."The team began assessing the terrain and the complex network of interconnecting, labyrinth-like roads to establish effective search parameters," the post added. "Air assets" and "specially equipped" off-road vehicles were also used in the search. A group of campers sent a text message to an emergency line telling police that they had seen a vehicle matching the description of the missing persons, which authorities said "confirmed that the teams were searching in the correct area".Shortly afterwards, a rescue crew located the first handwritten message."We are ahead, up the road to the right. Please call 911 to get help for us. Thank you!" the message said. The teams followed the road and found a second note, which included a telephone number and the names of the missing individuals. Roughly a mile further along, officials found the mother and the moment of their rescue, Tami told ABC10 that she first heard a vehicle honk. "I turned around and I saw this truck coming down the road and it was just the best feeling ever." She and Stirling had spent the night in the car to avoid wild animals, and were lucky to have food, she locating the duo, the search team deployed vehicle recovery equipment to free their car and assisted them to return to waiting family determined the pair became lost in part due to a GPS signal that stopped working after they reached a remote area, leaving them unable to retrace their route.
