We have never really been the kind of parents to think "oh that will never happen to us." We discuss worst case scenarios with our kiddos on a regular basis. We have talked about what to do if someone tries to take one of them or what to do if someone stops their car in the neighborhood asking one of them, a kid, for help. We have talked about what to do if they are at a friend's house and they begin to feel uncomfortable or someone wants them to do something they feel is wrong. We've discussed what to do if they get lost at Disney World or the zoo or a theme park. We talk about what to do if they get lost in a crowded store or if we get separated in a crowd. But never, in all of these worst case scenario discussions, have we ever talked about what to do if they get lost in the woods.
This week we rented a cabin at a state park and got off grid for a couple days. Upon arrival, we unloaded, set up our cabin, and decided to go explore before dinner since it was still early. We cut through the woods from our cabin and linked up with one of the trails and walked for about half a mile, exploring our surroundings. The temp was starting to drop, so we decided to turn around and head back to the cabin before it got too late. The plan was to eat some dinner and then have a game night. The big kids ran ahead, which didn't concern us because we hadn't gone far and there were 3 cut throughs to get to the cabins from the trail.
We got back to the cabin and neither big kid was there. We weren't worried, just figured they missed the first cut through and were just further down the trail. Aaron put down the baby and headed back to the trail to call the kiddos back. Our son came into the cabin and then a few minutes later Aaron came in asking if our daughter was back. S still hadn't shown up, so Aaron told me to suit up and come help him look because he could not see her anywhere on the trail. I put my shoes and sweatshirt back on and followed Aaron out to the trail, leaving E and the baby at the cabin. Aaron rushed ahead calling for S, while I followed behind slower, scanning the lake and the woods for the sparkly pink jacket that S was wearing.
We walked for at least half a mile before Aaron turned around and met up with me. At this point, I told Aaron it was time to head back to the cabin and if S wasn't there one of us would need to take the car and go find a park ranger to help us. We met up with our cabin "neighbor" who was also out looking for our girl along with his 14 year old daughter ,who was at the time running up and down side trails looking for S. I ran up through the first cut through to the cabin while Aaron stayed on the trail and found that S still wasn't back. So I ran ahead to the next cut through, told Aaron that I was going to get help while he continued on the trail, backtracking to where we went earlier thinking maybe S went there.
Before getting in the car, our neighbor told me that he was going to go in the opposite direction and search some of the side trails and knowing that we didn't have phone signal, told me that if I heard 3 gunshots that was him. I got in my car and started to drive, reciting out loud all the information I knew; what cabin we were staying in, the trail number, the landmarks we had walked past, what S was wearing, her physical description, etc. At one point, I started to get scared, thinking about how cold it was getting, that S wasn't dressed for cold weather, how scared S must be, and I started to cry. But then I told myself, "STOP, you have a job to do and you can't break down right now". I also prayed harder than I had ever prayed in my life, praying not only that we would find her, but that God would comfort S and assure her that we were looking for her and that we would not stop.
Thankfully, I found a park ranger at one of the other campgrounds and jumped out of the car to let him know my daughter was missing. After taking down her physical description, the ranger radioed to the main gate and told them to stop every car leaving the park and look for a 10 year old girl fitting my daughter's description. I will admit, this was the point I almost threw up. It hadn't even crossed my mind that someone might take my girl. As I was giving the ranger our contact information, I heard 3 gunshots and knew that was our neighbor. I told as much to the ranger and ran back to my car to drive back to the cabins. I had never been so happy to hear gunshots in my life.
As soon as I jumped out of the car at the cabins, our neighbor's wife met me and told me that her daughter had just called, they found S and were bringing her home. I think I took the first full breath in an hour and anxiously waited to hold my sweet baby girl. The ranger followed me to the cabin and I was able to tell him the good news, S was found and on her way back. He told me that I had done a great job, cancelled the stopping of every car, and went towards where Aaron had headed so he could send him home. It wasn't long before Aaron showed back up, because when he heard those gunshots, he knew that he needed to go in the direction of those shots. He came to the cabin and I was able to tell him that our girl had been found.
When we caught the first glimpse of that sparkly jacket, we both took off running, Aaron getting to her first, and S jumped into her daddy's arms, sobbing. I got to her next and wrapped her cold little body in my arms and told her that we never stopped looking for her and that we were so happy she was okay. We got her inside, warm, fed, and smothered with hugs. We found out that she had kept walking down the trail for almost 3/4 of a mile before finally turning around. She even climbed a hill at one point to a firetower, thinking a ranger or firefighter would be there, and upon getting there and seeing that there was no one around, she curled up on the bench and just cried. After a few minutes, our brave girl persevered and told herself that she had to keep walking, so she went back down to the trail and soon after, our neighbor's daughter found her.
We talked for a long time that night and again the next day about what she should have done. That if she is walking and no longer recognizes anything, to STOP and turn around. We got her a trail map the next morning and she actually highlighted the trails we planned to take before leaving the cabin. While on the trail, we had her point out landmarks that would help her recognize where she was. We worked with her on how to best read the map and we set new boundaries, telling her that if ran ahead and turned around and could not see us, that she was to stop and stay where she was until she could see us again.
Aaron and I have also had several conversations since our girl got lost about how we can better prepare our kids and how we can prevent something like this from happening again. We have discussed getting some good walkie talkies, with a decent range, so that even if we get separated, we can communicate in areas with no phone signal. I told Aaron that our kids will each carry a preparedness bag everytime we go hiking from now on. The bag will have water, snacks, a sweatshirt, gloves, and warm hat, a flashlight, and a whistle or loud alarm. We have learned a valuable lesson from this experience and will be better prepared should our adventurous, explorer kiddos get separated from us.
I write this, one to help process what happened, but also as a warning to other adventure loving families. Please, please talk with your kids about what they should do if they get lost in the woods. Talk about the importance of paying attention to landmarks and that if they no longer recognize their surrounds to STOP, TURN AROUND, and GO BACK the way they came. Tell them that if it starts to get dark to STOP and STAY RIGHT WHERE THEY ARE on the trail. Please give your kids worst-case scenario items - at least a whistle or an alarm, but I would encourage a backpack with the items listed above. As I tell Aaron a lot, if you prepare for the worst-case scenario, then odds are the worst won't happen. Pay attention to your kids, note what they are wearing before heading out, pay attention to the the trail numbers and markings and landmarks so you can give thorough descriptions to authorities if needed.
Even with this traumatic experience, our girl still wants to go back to the state park and stay in the cabins again. She still loves hiking and exploring the great outdoors. And she says that even though she was scared at the time, she isn't scared to go out again. Things could have been so much worse, but God was kind and gracious and our story has a happy ending.
