Two handwritten notes weighed down by rocks helped lead to the rescue of a mother and her 9-year-old son in California, who were stranded for more than 24 hours in the remote Sierra Nevada wilderness.
The note, as explained in a Facebook post by the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office, was discovered at an intersection by a search and rescue team that had already been looking for the pair, who had failed to return home and were unreachable by phone. The mother, 49, and her son had left the Sacramento area around 1:30 p.m. on Friday, en route to Camp Wolfeboro, a Boy Scout camp off Highway 4.
When they did not respond to personal phone calls, a report was filed with the Calaveras County Dispatch Center. Deputies and a search team were quickly dispatched.
Coincidentally, the Calaveras County Volunteer Team was participating in its monthly training session at a nearby reservoir. Around 1:20 p.m. Saturday, the team began scouring the area, launching a road-based search.
A break came when a group of campers reported via 911 text that they’d seen a vehicle matching the description of the missing pair the day before. Later that afternoon, at about 5:40 p.m., searchers found the first handwritten message at the junction of a Forest Service road.
“HELP. Me and my son are stranded with no service and can’t call 911,” reads one of the letters, as seen in the Facebook post. “We are ahead, up the road to the right. Please call 911 to get help for us. Thank you!”
The team continued down the road, where they found a second note.
“HELP. Me and my son are stranded up the road to the right,” the other note reads. “Please get help for us. Follow the strips of brown sheet. Thank you.”
After following the signs, searchers found the mother and son near their disabled vehicle. Rescuers used recovery tools to free the car and soon after escorted the mother and son back to the command center.
In its Facebook post, the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office highlighted how planning, communication and awareness of survival techniques aided in the rescue. In addition to leaving the notes at intersections and using the car’s hazard lights to attract attention, the 9-year-old also used a whistle to periodically deliver the international signal for help: three short bursts.
“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 Facebook post said.
