Lost Hikers - How often does this happen and who pays for the search?

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Lost hikers found in Deam Wilderness

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Lost hikers found in Deam Wilderness​

Indiana Department of Natural Resources sent this bulletin at 07/01/2022 02:29 PM EDT

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Indiana Department of Natural Resources
402 W. Washington St.
Indianapolis, IN 46204

For immediate release: July 1, 2022

Lost hikers found in Deam Wilderness
Indiana Conservation Officers have located two lost hikers after a long search in the Charles C. Deam Wilderness of Hoosier National Forest.
Yesterday at approximately 6 p.m., Monroe County received a 911 call from Jason Craig, 44, of Valparaiso, requesting help because he and his wife were hiking in Deam and got lost.
Search crews comprising Indiana Conservation Officers and the Monroe Fire Protection District responded and began searching the area by foot, all-terrain vehicle, and boat.
Craig was located near the area of Grubb Ridge Trail, but his wife, Hannah Daugherty, 36, was still missing. The two had separated when Daugherty became too exhausted to walk, and Craig left for help. The search for Daugherty was suspended overnight due to the steep terrain and other hazards in the area.
Crews from Indiana Conservation Officers, Hoosier Nation Forest Service, and Monroe Fire Protection District resumed the search at sunrise today and located Daugherty at 9 a.m.
Both hikers were checked by EMS and released.

-30-

Media contact: Lt. Angela Goldman, DNR Law Enforcement, 812-320-9839, agoldman@dnr.IN.gov

 

[Kurr]

I don't know where I am or where I'm going, and obviously don't know basic land-nav, but you wait here and I'll go somewhere for a signal and call for help and come back.

How long till he's considered a suspect in her disappearance?

 

[dieselrealtor]

My family & I were setting up camp off a fire trail (about 4 miles from main road) at dusk outside Grand Canyon if I remember correctly a couple of years ago. A lone male comes walking toward us waving his hands, not sure if he was a deranged camper that we had got his spot or not we were prepared. Turns out as he got closer he was a teenager that had been lost all day, strayed away from his campsite & got turned around, no food, water or warm clothing & the temperature was going to be cold that night. We took him back & I talked to the Sheriff Deputy & he stated they were about to deploy search & rescue. He stated that after talking to the kid he had gone about 12 miles.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Who pays varies by location. Grand Canyone has a charity fund you can donate to that pays for it. Some places use permit fees. Others, it's just like police/fire service and is tax funded.

How often it happens, probably varies greatly by location as well. Joshua Tree kills people fairly routinely.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Joshua Tree kills people fairly routinely.

I've never been a real big U2 fan, but that album seemed fairly harmless. Who knew??

 

[cosermann]

I like to watch old reruns of "I Shouldn't be Alive," with the kids and point out the stupid mistakes people make (most of the time, sometimes things just happen) that get them into such predicaments.

 

[Gaffer]

I don't know where I am or where I'm going, and obviously don't know basic land-nav, but you wait here and I'll go somewhere for a signal and call for help and come back.

How long till he's considered a suspect in her disappearance?

She was found this morning and doing well.

 

[Kurr]

Thank goodness for that, I sometimes enjoy being wrong in my assumptions

 

[ed1838]

i have got turned around before it happens

 

[printcraft]

I've never been a real big U2 fan, but that album seemed fairly harmless. Who knew??

 

[Leadeye]

Every year or so some unhappy ginseng/mushroom/whatever hunter stumbles out of the HNF and follows my trail network up to the house. I ask where they started and then tell them how to get back to where they started by following county roads/ highway. They are never interested in going back into the woods the way they came.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

One of the reasons I really like my Garmin watch is built in topo maps of the entire continental US built in and a "go back to start" feature that will navigate you back to, you know, where you started. I also download maps to my phone, meaning it can be used offline, and take a paper map and magnetic compass. If I *still* manage to get lost, I deserved it.

 

[rooster]

People go missing on public land every year you just never hear about it. I bought a garmin Inreach and a rescue insurance policy last time I did a backcountry trip( cost a ridiculous sum of money). Seems silly until your 10 miles deep in the back country and stop to think “I’ve got no cell signal so if I fall and break a leg I could easily die out here”.

On that same trip I stopped a couple of folks attempting to hike to a landmark in a wilderness areA I had just spent 4 hours coming back from. They were headed out at 4pm in the afternoon with a 20 oz bottle of water between the two of them. I politely told them that I had been trying to extract myself from said landmark since before noon and the “trail” that the map showed wasn’t really a trail and it was littered with bear scat.

 

[hammerd13]

Glad they were found! Things can certainly go downhill quickly in the backcountry. Many times, a confluence of several mistakes/circumstances pile up to take people out.

Somewhat related story you might enjoy....

-----------
Several years ago, a buddy and I planned to spend 2 nights camping on the Lake Monroe Peninsula. Rather than take the long peninsula trail to our campsite, we chose to arrive via canoe (much quicker). We launched from Cutright boat ramp (east of 446 and West of the marina). This was just West of the peninsula campsite destination. It was February if I recall and water temp was around 38 degrees F. Wind was high that late afternoon when we launched our boat, containing us and all our gear.

About 1/2 way to our intended destination, as we cautiously rowed our boat (staying within 100 yards of shore), a large swell of water swept over the stern of the canoe - filled it nearly full of water. We both began paddling towards shore frantically. Moments later, another swell came over the boat and completely filled it. The boat rapidly sank in the lake and our packs and most of our gear sank or floated away.

Luckily our PFDs kept our heads above water as we both slowly made our way to shore. By the time I got to land, I couldn't stand or operate my hands, due to hypothermia. Nightfall was approaching and we really had no good idea of where we made landfall.

Once the shock subsided, I thought "no problem", I've got a GPS. Turns out the batteries were dead/inoperable due to cold/water. That's okay, I've got a map in my pocket. Map was printed with inkjet printer and it was illegible (ink) ran. One of our packs did eventually float to land. With this, we were able to change into somewhat dry clothes grab a compass and one headlamp. Nightime temperatures were forecasted to be well below freezing. The sun was about to set for the evening.

After we decided that we were going to immediately hike out (had to keep moving to avoid freezing to death), we began our hike by bushwhacking for over 3 hours in the pitch dark. We had a rough idea that we needed to go West and South to eventually cross 446. There we would find somebody, certainly. We made it to a house near 446 and knocked on the door and asked for help. They obliged.

It all ended well. My buddy is a firefighter and we returned the next day and had the local fire department deploy their rescue boat. They helped us recover the canoe and some of our gear. They were happy they weren't pulling bodies from the lake, for sure.

Lessons I learned...

• Always wear a PFD while in the water...especially when temperature is low or current is swift. Also, if you suddenly drop into really cold water without a PFD, you often inhale water...which could be your demise.
• Carry 10 essentials and redundancy is good.
• Know how to navigate, utilizing multiple methods.
• Don't overload a canoe, especially in a deep cold lake on a windy day. Our canoe had a 450lb limit and I'm guessing we were pretty close to that. We really had no business being on the water that day. Too much wind and the water too cold. The potential time savings to our campsite tempted us into a bad decision.
• Don't panic. Stop to collect your thoughts and plan your way out of a situation. It's easy to get panicked when things start to go south.

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[Ark]

Spent a lot of time in the Deam. I dunno how you get really, *really* lost. The lake is north, 446 is west, Tower Ridge Rd is south, and the only way you can well and truly screw yourself is staggering off to the east toward Elkinsville.

It is all hilly old growth woods, though. You can't always see the lake, and I guess if you have absolutely no sense of direction otherwise...

 

[smokingman]

The only hiker I know who was rescued was sent the bill(Helicopter ride,and ground crews) when they broke a leg in the Mahoosuc Notch. If another hiker had not gone ahead and got the word out(no cell signal with 100ft+ tall solid rock walls for over a mile),they would have been lucky to survive.Not much around when you get out of there either.

This one.

AT hiker rescued after breaking leg at Mahoosuc Notch

Anne Renner broker her leg while hiking through the Mahoosuc Notch on Monday evening and was rescued by the Warden Service at 1 p.m Tuesday.

www.sunjournal.com

I have been lost myself,quite a few times actually. I do have some navigation skill though and have never needed rescued or had any worry about rather or not I would survive. To me lost is more of a delay in plans than an emergency(carrying what you need REALLY helps).

 

[smokingman]

One of the reasons I really like my Garmin watch is built in topo maps of the entire continental US built in and a "go back to start" feature that will navigate you back to, you know, where you started. I also download maps to my phone, meaning it can be used offline, and take a paper map and magnetic compass. If I *still* manage to get lost, I deserved it.

APPs like Guthooks(now called Farout) are great. Most do not realize but your cell,even without a cell signal still has a GPS signal. I believe even google maps will work most of the time without a cell signal. I have Guthooks/farout though,for things like marked good water sources,the latest trail conditions,and good camp sites/shelters(and ones to avoid).

FarOut: GPS Maps for Long-distance Hiking, Biking, & Paddling

FarOut is the number 1 app for thru hiking, long distance hiking, biking, and paddling. Download our navigational app today.

faroutguides.com

 

[BehindBlueI's]

APPs like Guthooks(now called Farout) are great. Most do not realize but your cell,even without a cell signal still has a GPS signal. I believe even google maps will work most of the time without a cell signal. I have Guthooks/farout though,for things like marked good water sources,the latest trail conditions,and good camp sites/shelters(and ones to avoid).

FarOut: GPS Maps for Long-distance Hiking, Biking, & Paddling

FarOut is the number 1 app for thru hiking, long distance hiking, biking, and paddling. Download our navigational app today.

faroutguides.com

Yeah, GPS still works. If you download the Google maps for the area for offline use, it uses very little battery and does not need a data signal at all.

I haven't tried farout, I'll look in to it.

 

[Creedmoor]

Joshua Tree kills people fairly routinely.

Yes it does.
Two trips ago, I drove from vegas to 29 Palms and back, their had been a fire in Joshua Tree. One side of the road trees were black for a few miles and on the other side of the road, unscaded.
It was kinna creepy.

 

[KittySlayer]

Spent a lot of time in the Deam. I dunno how you get really, *really* lost. The lake is north, 446 is west, Tower Ridge Rd is south, and the only way you can well and truly screw yourself is staggering off to the east toward Elkinsville.

It is all hilly old growth woods, though. You can't always see the lake, and I guess if you have absolutely no sense of direction otherwise...

Yeah, trying to understand how you get “lost” in Indiana. You usually are never more than 2-3 miles from a road. Simply walk one direction, find a road, and find civilization. A compass helps but can be done without. Looking at a map before leaving and knowing your boundaries (roads, water, land features) helps too.

Distances out west are a different animal finding civilization.

Injury preventing hiking may require rescue.