Breaking News: Rescuers Find Missing Mom & 2 Kids, But Not Dad Who Went for Help

[Jessterw]

For a really clear look at craziness of what occurred, check out this diagramed map...

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?o=0&f=/c/a/2006/12/07/MNGH6MR3191.DTL

The fact that they were less than or around 10 miles away from that main road and opted to stay put breaks my brain.

[Dr Mordrid]

Staying put saved the mother & kids lives and is what they should have done. Dad's motives were good, but his actions in leaving them misguided.

1. stay with your car/shelter. If you don't have a shelter, make one. Walking around burns calories/body fat you need for keeping warm & basic metabolism.

2. signals: SOS in found materials; rocks, logs, whatever. Got spare cloth? Put up a flag. Got spray paint? Paint a big arrow on the snow aimed at your location.

If you know how turn ignition coil/battery into a spark-gap r/f transmitter & SOS. It'll travel miles on many bands. Prepare a smoky signal fire from a spare tire, gas & conifer branches.

3. got string/wire/boxes? set snares/traps for rabbits, squirrels & muskrats. Got any rubber tubing/elastic? Make a slingshot for birds & small critters. Got stiff wire/thorns/pins and straws/tubing? Blowgun & darts.

and so on....

[cjolley]

Ther road they took was supposed to locked by a gate in the winter.
A vandal cut the lock and opened the gate.

Doc echoed by thoughts exactly.
What did he think he was going to accomplish?

[Jessterw]

When I say they stayed put, I meant the family as a whole decided to stay where they were because they were worried about how much fuel they had left. Given the distance they were from the main road, I'm sure they had enough fuel to, at the very least, reach it - given they had enough to keep the heater in their vehicle running for awhile. Waiting it out near that road would have been far better than deciding to stick-it-out on what amounts to a service road.