California mom, 9-year-old son rescued after leaving handwritten SOS notes in forest

Mom, son rescued in California forest thanks to notes they left on a remote road

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.

CALAVERAS COUNTY, Calif. - A mother and her 9-year-old son, who became lost in a remote California forest while en route to a Boy Scouts camp, were successfully rescued after a search crew discovered notes they had left behind. 

Timeline:

On Friday, a mother and her 9-year-old son departed the Sacramento area, heading towards a Boy Scouts camp. 

Their GPS system inadvertently guided them onto old logging roads deep within the Sierra Nevada foothills. That's where they lost their GPS signal and became stuck approximately 10 miles from the nearest paved road.

The mother and son were reported missing on Saturday after failing to arrive at the camp. 

A volunteer search-and-rescue team, coincidentally training in the area, was dispatched. 

The team, leveraging a location-sharing app and information from campers who had seen the woman's car, narrowed down their last known location. Within about four hours of being dispatched, the search team found the first note. 

A second note was discovered further up the road, and about a mile after that, the mother and son were located where their car had become stuck. 

They had spent the night in their car, utilizing a cooler packed with food and drinks for the camp.

What they're saying:

Lt. Greg Stark, a spokesperson for the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office, highlighted the effectiveness of the pair's actions: "they did everything right. they put themselves in the best position to be found."

The first note found by the search team explicitly 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!"

Why you should care:

This incident underscores the importance of preparedness and proper action when encountering unexpected challenges in remote areas. 

The mother and son's successful rescue was largely attributed to their proactive measures, such as informing others of their travel plans and expected arrival time, and staying put once they realized they were lost. 

Additionally, the boy's use of a whistle to sound three short bursts, a universally recognized distress signal taught in Boy Scouts, played a crucial role in alerting the search team to their presence. 

This story serves as a reminder that even with modern navigation tools, understanding wilderness safety and traditional signaling methods remains vital.