Lost in Swamp - 911 rescue

July 28, 2003

High-tech tools put ‘hunter’ in swamp, coordinate his rescue.

http://www.gazettenet.com/07282003/news/7851.htm

2.3k · July 28, 2003

"It was a bizarre situation," said Northampton Deputy Fire Chief William P. Hurley on Sunday. "He said he was walking in circles for hours. He said I have no idea where I am except the (GPS) coordinates on a Web site."

Next time, he will buy a Magellan.

5.9k · July 28, 2003

My eyes hurt from all the rolling they did while reading that. Sheesh...

http://fp1.centurytel.net/Criminal_Page/

3.8k · July 28, 2003

Someone in these forums has a signature relating to this. Something like..."without brains, a GPS unit is just a waterproof case for batteries?"

==============="If it feels good...do it"================

**(the other 9 out of 10 voices in my head say: "Don't do it.")**

.

July 28, 2003

Heh, it looks like he was trying a LITTLE too hard to be first finder on this cache.

Can't wait to see his log on that - "woulda had the FTF, except I got lost and search and rescue had to come find me."

2.3k · July 28, 2003

An entry from that cache:

"# 1 FINDERS!! Found after a .3 mile bushwack thru chest high weeds hiding fallen trees and possible fields of poison ivy, which the cache maybe hiding in. Found 1 tick each and clouds of mosquitos."

Man, I am SOOOO glad I live in the desert.

38.2k · July 28, 2003

Sheesh, what a bozo! Not like he was ever far from a road!

We had a similar thing happen in NJ recently. Some volunteer "hawk watcher" went off into a nearby state park, GPS in hand. He got lost and called the police. He was able to provide coordinates and a SAR team reached him after dark.

Always mark the waypoint of your car! Hellllllooo!

"Give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, he'll sit in a boat and drink beer all day" - Dave Barry

July 28, 2003

I know that area pretty well; I live just North of it.

Let me get this right -- he's standing in a field beside an interstate highway and he's LOST?

July 28, 2003

quote:
We had a similar thing happen in NJ recently. Some volunteer "hawk watcher" went off into a nearby state park, GPS in hand. He got lost and called the police. He was able to provide coordinates and a SAR team reached him after dark.

Not only that, but if you walk a half mile in any direction from anywhere, you'll hit a road. It's difficult to get away from traffic noise anywhere in NJ, much less get seriously lost in the scant remaining woods. With a GPS in hand, yet. Or a compass. Or even one good eye to see the sun.

____________________________

- Team Og Rof A Klaw

All who wander are not lost.

38.2k · July 28, 2003

quote:
Not only that, but if you walk a half mile in any direction from anywhere, you'll hit a road. It's difficult to get away from traffic noise anywhere in NJ, much less get seriously lost in the scant remaining woods.

Well in this guy's defense he was in a pretty rugged area and if he turned the wrong way, it could have been 4-5 miles before he hit a road.

"Give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, he'll sit in a boat and drink beer all day" - Dave Barry

July 28, 2003

Geeze---

I rolled my eyes on this article too. Sounds like he wasn't too prepared.

Also, what confused me was that he said he didn't know where he was, but he had a GPS in his hand? Um, I might be wrong here, but don't GPSr's tell you "exactly" (+- 15feet) where you are?

I also thought it was funny how the article said, "He didn't know where his car was, but the Geocaching webpage knew where his car was". Sounds a bit "big brother" to me. I wish I had a webpage that told me where my car was.

I wonder if this guy is gonna continue caching. And, I wonder if he'll mark the cache as found on the webpage.

Hard work pays off in the future, laziness pays off now.

24.7k · July 28, 2003

That's funny. "I know exactly were I am, but not how to get where I want to be!"

5.9k · July 28, 2003

quote:
I wonder if this guy is gonna continue caching. And, I wonder if he'll mark the cache as found on the webpage.

How'd he find his way out of his driveway in the first place?

http://fp1.centurytel.net/Criminal_Page/

2.3k · July 28, 2003

He's got my vote for the prestigious "Newbie of the Year" award...anyone second the motion?

July 28, 2003

Team 360 qoute: Man, I am SOOOO glad I live in the desert.

Are cactus, rattlesnakes,and scorpions better than poison ivy, ticks and mosquitoes?

Maps?!? I don't need no stinking maps! I got coordinates!

There's a fine line between Geocaching and mental illness, I just not sure which side of the line I'm on!

2.3k · July 28, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by Woodbutcher68:
Team 360 qoute: Man, I am SOOOO glad I live in the desert.

Are cactus, rattlesnakes,and scorpions better than poison ivy, ticks and mosquitoes?

I haven't heard a mosquito buzz out here for 5 years now. No poison ivy or ticks that I have run into yet, either. Got smacked with a cactus once, though, but only cuz I was staring down at my GPS screen and walked right into it (my scream scared small animals for miles--think Predator after a kill), otherwise I can see pretty much anything coming for miles...

July 28, 2003

But the flora and fauna add so much to the experience!

Maps?!? I don't need no stinking maps! I got coordinates!

There's a fine line between Geocaching and mental illness, I just not sure which side of the line I'm on!

1.8k · July 28, 2003

He hasn't logged a DNF. The cache owners have posted a warning, though - they've obviously heard the story!

Bill

-------------------------------

"Ah, take the Cache and let the Credit go..."

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, trans. Edward Fitzgerald

July 28, 2003

If you were him, would you post a DNF???

DNF, but the SAR team found me and helped me find my car. Special thanks to geocaching.com for their help in my adventure.

P.S. GPSr for sale- hardly used, in good condition. Owner taking up scrapbooking.

Maps?!? I don't need no stinking maps! I got coordinates!

There's a fine line between Geocaching and mental illness, I just not sure which side of the line I'm on!

24.7k · July 28, 2003

After all that they didn't find it? Sooo how many of you actually know how to use your tracklog to find your way out?

July 28, 2003

Hiking alone, in a swamp, at dark, not sure how to get out... I think he probably did the right thing calling 911.

He certainly could have been more prepared, but as long as he learns something from his experience, I wouldn't hold it against him.

-BeachBuddies

2.3k · July 28, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by Woodbutcher68:
If you were him, would you post a DNF???

DNF, but the SAR team found me and helped me find my car. Special thanks to geocaching.com for their help in my adventure.

P.S. GPSr for sale- hardly used, in good condition. Owner taking up scrapbooking.

Maps?!? I don't need no stinking maps! I got coordinates!

There's a fine line between Geocaching and mental illness, I just not sure which side of the line I'm on!

WHAT?? THAT WAS YOU?? You can't quit NOW, you're famous!

July 28, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by BeachBuddies:
Hiking alone, in a swamp, at dark, not sure how to get out... I think he probably did the right thing calling 911.

I'm suprised he wasn't thrown looking for the "11" key.

George

38.2k · July 28, 2003

quote:
Hiking alone, in a swamp, at dark, not sure how to get out... I think he probably did the right thing calling 911.

He certainly could have been more prepared, but as long as he learns something from his experience, I wouldn't hold it against him.

A half mile from any road? Nah. I hope the authorities charge him for the rescue. This is a prime example of technology bringing people outdoors who probably should have stayed in front of their computer.

Not that getting couch potatos outdoors is a bad idea, but when they call the rescue teams in because its getting dark, or they are tired, or they aren't sure where their car is...c'mon.

"Give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, he'll sit in a boat and drink beer all day" - Dave Barry

July 28, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by BrianSnat:
...but when they call the rescue teams in because its getting dark, or they are tired, or they aren't sure where their car is...c'mon.

Ok, I did some more research, and I agree with you. When I first read the article, it said they rescue team went in by boat, and then had to hike through some dense swamp to get to him. But when I plotted the cache and parking spot on the map, it became obvious he just really messed up...

The thick black line I added is a half mile long. He was never far from a road, in any direction. Ah well...

-BB

July 28, 2003

The part that got me was where it said he was walking in circles for hours! Any direction at all, and he would have been fine - it took some real creativity to devise a self rescue strategy that didn't work there. As far as paying for the rescue, the article mentioned that American Medical Response participated in the search. I believe that's a commercial ambulance company, and I'll bet there is a $2,000 - $3,000 bill headed his way. Hey, maybe we should start a Geocaching version of the Darwin Awards!

July 28, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by Uplink:
The part that got me was where it said he was walking in circles for hours! Any direction at all, and he would have been fine - it took some real creativity to devise a self rescue strategy that didn't work there.

Actually, when lost, people tend to walk in circles when they think they are going straight unless:

- they are following a compass bearing

and/or

- they use a sighting technique that lines up subsequent pairs of landmarks

Moral: take a compass (and know how to use it) if there's a chance you could get lost.

2.7k · July 28, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by Uplink:
The part that got me was where it said he was walking in circles for hours! Any direction at all, and he would have been fine - it took some real creativity to devise a self rescue strategy that didn't work there. As far as paying for the rescue, the article mentioned that American Medical Response participated in the search. I believe that's a commercial ambulance company, and I'll bet there is a $2,000 - $3,000 bill headed his way. Hey, maybe we should start a Geocaching version of the http://www.darwinawards.com/<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Looks like he would be a first candidate for that! Yeah, I like the Darwin Awards...crazy what people do to themselves!

July 29, 2003

Darwin Awards are for people that remove themselves from the gene pool, although they do have Honorable Mentions for people that come close. He didn't find the cache and didn't come close to removing himself. Not a candidate for an award, unless there's one for making a fool of himself.

I've never been lost; been a might bewildered a few times though.

Maps?!? I don't need no stinking maps! I got coordinates!

There's a fine line between Geocaching and mental illness, I just not sure which side of the line I'm on!

July 29, 2003

What about using the TRACK BACK feature, even the lowly yellow etrex can do this. I think as a 911 operator or rescuer I would have tried to get him to use this to get back to his car, rather than waste all those taxpayer dollars "rescuing" him.

July 29, 2003

quote:
What about using the TRACK BACK feature, even the lowly yellow etrex can do this.

Hey...eTrexs are the best GPS units out there! (don't flame me...I'm just a fan)

Team Smoke

July 29, 2003

If he had taken a copy of the cache description page, with him, he would have had the coordinates for his car, RIGHT ON THAT PAGE. Or he could have followed his GPSr bread crumb trail back. I didn't see it say, his GPSr wasn't working, in the article. I try to be sympathetic, but this guy should not never leave pavement.

_________________________________________________________

If trees could scream, would we still cut them down?

Well, maybe if they screamed all the time, for no reason.

Click here for my Geocaching pictures and Here (newest)

6.5k · July 29, 2003

quote:
High-tech tools put ‘hunter’ in swamp, coordinate his rescue

Methinks he was hunting the elusive Clue.! In very little defense of this joker, I used to live and work within a few miles of the Oxbow and it is some dense swamp; just not too big. Perhaps we should take upa collection for his remedial GPS'r user intro class?

These changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes;

Nothing remains quite the same.

Through all of the islands and all of the highlands,

If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane

2.3k · July 29, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by Team Smoke:
If the cache location was in colorado or something where the cellphone reception is nearly non-exhistant, he would have seriously just disappeared. But hey, now he has a really cool story to tell.

Team Smoke

I disagree. If he was out that far and couldn't make a call, he would have FOUND a way out. He had the wussy way to get out: the almighty cellphone. Put someone in the middle of the desert or in a swamp all alone without a cellphone and they will LEARN how to do it themselves in a heartbeat.

1k · July 29, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by TEAM 360:
Put someone in the middle of the desert or in a swamp all alone without a cellphone and they will LEARN how to do it themselves in a heartbeat.

Or die trying.

_________________________________

Webfoot

Tromping through the underbrush looking for Ammo cans, Tupperware containers, & little round disks.

July 29, 2003

I've also managed to get lost with just coordinates a couple days after I got my GPS. It wasn't in the Wilderness, but in a neiborhood I wasn't familiar with. I asked some guy for directions with my GPS in hand. It was pretty embarrassing...

July 29, 2003

In a situation like this you have got to lie. Go ahead and give the 911 folks your location. If you're asked how you are so sure tell them you've used a sextant fashioned out of branches to ascertain your position. Tell them anything BUT that your GPSr says you're there. Then hide your GPSr in your pocket and wait for rescue. Finally, when you get home...sell it on e-bay.

July 29, 2003

With a Garmin, I never worry about getting lost; they put their Kansas HQ in as a waypoint. If I get lost, I can just walk from SE Minnesota, and I'll be fine!

=====

It is the tale, not he who tells it."

1k · July 29, 2003

True to the fact that he should learn to use his GPSr a little better, walking a half a mile through chest high reeds in a swamp can feel like 10 miles!!

If he had been walking around in circles for hours, his tracklog wouldn't be worth following, but a quick pan of the map pointer would have given him his starting position and its coords. (that is so long as it has not overlapped )

I constantly make the mistake of not marking a waypoint for my car. I usually remember when I get about fifty feet from the car so I stop make sure the car is in site and mark a waypoint from there.

I am sure this is one event he will never forget, he HAD to learn something from it!

Kar

July 30, 2003

This one had me laughing so hard my sides hurt. I'm continually getting amazed at how little navigation ability some people have. I'll bet the rescue people are still laughing so hard it hurts.

As for the track, even if you wander in a huge circle near the cache, by panning out you can see where the track started. Even if you can't manually mark a waypoint there, you can tell if you're headed in the right general direction.

My vote goes to paying for the rescue.

3.8k · July 30, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by Webfoot:

quote:
Originally posted by TEAM 360:
Put someone in the middle of the desert or in a swamp all alone without a cellphone and they will LEARN how to do it themselves in a heartbeat.

Or die trying.

He'd have been a shoe-in for the Darwin Awards then!

~robert

2.3k · July 30, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by Woodbutcher68:
If you were him, would you post a DNF???

DNF, but the SAR team found me and helped me find my car. Special thanks to geocaching.com for their help in my adventure.

P.S. GPSr for sale- hardly used, in good condition. Owner taking up scrapbooking.

Bwaaaaahhh haa haa ha! Oh, that's classic... someone should post a sockpuppet log in "honor" of the poor sap!

Joel (joefrog)

"Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for ye are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!"

24.7k · July 30, 2003

This this guy had been me. I'd log my skunk. Just because.

3.8k · July 30, 2003

Someone logged it. (see this thread too.)

==============="If it feels good...do it"================

**(the other 9 out of 10 voices in my head say: "Don't do it.")**

.

August 7, 2003

As a fellow with searching experience i should defend the fellow.

Even experienced people get lost.

disorientation is only cured by being in a place you can process the references, and Fatigue, dehydration, hunger, and any number of factors can contribute to a "loss"of perspective and knowledge of your relationship to where you want to go.

Most people are not trained to walk a straight line, EVERYONE naturally curves left or right if not constantly self corrected.

VERY few people know how to use a compass and map, even if they HAVE them.

Some people are blessed with good homing instinct others are not.

It is EASY to walk in circles in unfamiliar territory, and easy to lose you reasoning ability when distracted by being lost, PANIC sets in and the field of focus narrows.

The mistakes this person made should be lessons for us all, and hopefully they will find usefulness in one or more of our newer participant's orientation into this sport.

I certainly hope that no-one ese gets lost like this, it does have an impact on the geocaching as a whole, especially when the public only hears of the incidents like this

Trash-out, EVERYtime

~~

Geo-cach-er, n. generally a highy technically competent person with lots of free time. (see also- "Unemployed", Computer administrator, aircraft technician- defense worker- dot-com executive- systems administrator, et.al)

August 7, 2003

I think I know where the other half of that joint went now.

"I cache; therefore I am"

August 8, 2003

Didn't the SAR guys have GPS? Seems strange he didn't read lat/lon to the 911 operator. They should have been able to find him in about 10 minutes.

As for a compass, if he can't find his way out with GPS, I doub't he can even read a compass.

Lost in Swamp - 911 rescue

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