Rescuers find mom and son lost in California forest thanks to notes they
left on a remote road
[July 18, 2025]
By JOHN SEEWER
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.
The notes
weighed down by rocks with “HELP” written at the top said they were
stranded up the road with no phone service. |
This undated photo provided by the Calaveras County, Calif., Sheriff’s
Office shows a note that was left by a woman and her 9-year-old-son, who
got lost in a California forest while driving to a Boy Scouts camp, and
found by rescuers who then located the pair on Saturday, July 12, 2025.
(Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office via AP) |
|
A volunteer search-and-rescue team that was training in the
Sierra Nevada foothills found the pair Saturday, a day after
they had set out for the camp, according to the Calaveras County
Sheriff’s Office.
The woman and her son got lost on Friday after they left the
Sacramento area and their GPS had directed them onto old logging
roads deep into the forest, said Lt. Greg Stark, a spokesperson
for the sheriff's office.
They eventually lost their GPS signal and then got stuck about
10 miles (16 kilometers) from the nearest paved road, Stark
said.
They were reported missing the next day after not showing up at
the camp.
The county's volunteer search team initially narrowed down the
pair's last known spot from a location-sharing app and then
heard from campers who saw the woman's missing car a day
earlier, the sheriff's office said.
About four hours after being dispatched, the search team found
the first note that 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!”
The team found a second note up the road, and then about a mile
later they found the woman and her son, where their car had
gotten stuck, the sheriff's office said.
The pair had spent the night in the car with a cooler full of
food and drinks they had packed for a few days at the camp,
Stark said.
Authorities credited the pair with alerting others where they
were going and when they would arrive and staying where they
were once they got lost. The boy also used his whistle to sound
three short bursts — a signal for help that Scouts are taught.
“They did everything right,” Stark said. “They put themselves in
the best position to be found.”
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