Officials reported that a 9-year-old boy, who went missing in a California national forest, was rescued due to a note his mother left asking for help and providing directions to their location.
The pair found themselves in a remote part of the Stanislaus National Forest in Sierra Nevada near Sonora on Friday, cut off from cell service and GPS.
The following day, a search team training nearby came across a note on the ground, written by their 49-year-old mother, who felt overwhelmed.
“Help,” it began, along with a date indicating they were still there.
“My son and I are stuck without service and can’t call 911. We’re ahead,” she had written.
Another note indicated they were “stuck on the road to the right.”
“Follow the strips of brown sheets,” it instructed, requesting the scout leader and their family to assist them.
The Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office shared that the notes were found about a mile from where the search team located the second memo.
The office later confirmed that they reached the two individuals safely after a two-mile trek down the road.
On Friday, the duo had left the Sacramento area for an overnight camping trip at Camp Wolfsborough.
The boy had been blowing his whistle continuously throughout the night, while his mother used her hazard lights in the thick woods, trying to signal for help.
They were reported missing the next day, Saturday, after a volunteer team, involved in monthly training, discovered the note.
“The team began evaluating a complex network of maze-like roads to set up effective search parameters,” said the Sheriff’s Office.
This approach allowed for quick road-based searches using four-wheel drive vehicles and specialized utility terrain vehicles.
About three hours into the search, a Forest Service law enforcement ranger received a text from a camper who spotted a vehicle matching the description of the missing mother and son, ensuring the search team was in the right area.
The mother and son were found around 6 PM, still in the woods.
Due to the challenging terrain and dense forest, the search and rescue team couldn’t immediately communicate via phone that they had been found and had to switch to amateur radio to reach the sheriff’s office.
Fortunately, a retired El Dorado County communications supervisor happening to monitor the ham frequency from home responded swiftly.
He then contacted the El Dorado 911 Center.
The search team utilized a vehicle recovery tool to free their vehicle and helped return it to the command post along with the family.
