Missing Denali Park hikers found, reunited with families
Originally published Wednesday, June 18, 2008 at 10:29 a.m.
Updated Thursday, June 19, 2008 at 11:48 a.m.
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ANCHORAGE -- Two women missing in Denali National Park were found and reunited with worried family members Wednesday, six days after heading off on what they thought was an overnight hike.
Park spokeswoman Kris Fister said the women were found about 5 p.m. Wednesday outside the park on its northern side. A helicopter picked them up about an hour after the mother of one of the women received a second cell phone call from her daughter.
The two, 23-year-old Erica Nelson of Las Vegas and 25-year-old Abby Flantz of Gaylord, Minn., were taken to park headquarters, where family members were waiting.
Anchorage television station KTUU showed the two laughing with family members and eating large, overstuffed deli sandwiches as they walked to a waiting ambulance. They didn't immediately speak to reporters.
Fister said it appeared the two were fine.
The two embarked on the hike last Thursday. A massive search began for them on Saturday.
Ellane Nelson, mother of 23-year-old Erica Nelson, received an initial cell phone call at 9:15 a.m. as she listened to park officials give a briefing on the search for her missing daughter.
Park officials had reported the women were not carrying a cell phone, but the call was not a hallucination. Caller ID indicated it was from the 23-year-old woman.
Nelson answered the phone and heard her daughter say she and Flantz were alive and well.
The cell phone's battery was weak but park officials were able to locate the signal coming from the eastern section of the 100-square mile area they had been searching for more than four days.
Park Service officials told the women to stay put, make themselves visible and signal any helicopters that flew overhead.
The agency dispatched two helicopters to pick the women up, but hours later the two women had not been found.
Fister said it was thought the women were in the vicinity of a dry creek bed, but after the second phone call rescuers focused instead on a brushy area on the eastern edge of the search area north of Mount Healy, about five miles west of the Parks Highway, the main highway that connects Anchorage and Fairbanks.
The search area about 180 miles north of Anchorage is a mix of national park and state-owned lands.
"They were not where we thought they were," Fister said.
A helicopter, airplane, ground searchers and two dog teams were used in the search.
Nelson and Flantz left Thursday from the Savage Creek checkpoint just 15 miles from the park entrance, intending to return the next day.
They were spotted by other hikers a mile off the road before they vanished.
When the women did not show up for work Saturday at Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge, a hotel outside the park, they were reported overdue and the search began.
Searchers scoured a 100-square mile search area that includes dense alder and willow, some black spruce forest, but also miles of open tundra.
They found no indication that the women had left the park but were puzzled that no clothing or gear had been found, or that the women had not somehow signaled the three helicopters or park airplane that flew overhead.
Officials said it was unlikely the women merely decided to extend their camping trip. Nelson was scheduled to fly Sunday night to Houston, Texas, so she could be maid of honor in her sister's wedding.
Community Discussion
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If only they had been allowed to carry guns. They could have shot at the search helicopters and been rescued earlier.
How about an easier and legal solution, add another cell tower or two in order to cover the areas where people most commonly camp/hike.
Glad they were found safe.
Yeah, my wife and I were wondering how much sooner they would have been found if they would have stayed put like you are supposed to do when lost. Our guess is they were hiking until they got cell phone reception.
Can't cover the world in towers. There will always be dead zones.
Glad they were found safe.
Inexperienced hikers should be required to carry a GPS system or rent one. Taxpayers spend way more than that trying to find them.
We're happy they were found, and I'm sure no one is happier than their families and friends.
I've been Backpacking outside and have been in and about Denali quite a number of times and if I were going into an area where I did not know the terrain in a backpacking mode I would simply rent a Satellite phone. Those phones are available for rent by the day, week or month... There is now simply no excuse for the type of garbage theses two young ladies put their families through and the rescuers through. I thought that if these ladies were not simply lost they likely were Moose or Bear kill. Too many people treat wild lands as if they were in a Disney Theme Park. That gets folks killed. I am glad that the ladies came out alive and only a few pounds lighter.... (since they were on a planned short hike they probably ran out of food on Monday.)
Nice to see a happy ending for a change!
So did they get lost?? Why does it just say what people "thought" had happened instead of what actually did?
Nobody treated the land like it were a theme park. And lets not forget that most satellite phone rental locations are available in Fairbanks or Anchorage. Employees of the park without their own vehicle that rely mostly on the employee bus system (as is common with most princess employees)don't necessarily have the means to travel there.
As a longtime employee in Denali Park I can tell you that most people aren't even aware of satellite phone rentals. Perhaps its naive, but they aren't necessarily informed about the option of rentals by their employers.
Still too early. The press hasn't got there story out yet. Heck, they may not have picked them up yet.
We are all armchair quarterbacking. Something to do while sitting at home.
My daughter is also working for the Princess Wilderness Lodge and told us about the two young women that were missing. They were in our prayers and Praise God they were found today.
There's chatter about how they got lost here in the park. But as far as I know they're still just rumor.
sounds like to me they need to pay back the state for all the time and money looking for them
Ankle Braclets! Like they use for home probation. Then and a "blip" hand tracking. But that would be to expensive also. But fun to find tho! I'd be happy to try to find someone with them as tools!
Or may a shock neck brace if they go outta bounds a shock to them well most definitively make them stay in line!
I don't understand this "They should pay for it" attitude. Every time something like this happens people start saying "why are my tax dollars being wasted on stupid people?"
Everyone pays taxes for fire and police, but I never see people saying "oh they should pay the fire department to respond" or "they should pay for the police to respond" when people need those services.
So why is it a big deal when someone needs to be rescued in the park versus someone who needs to be rescued out of their car?
Someone owes the bears an apology.
Airfare to Alaska: $1182 Round Trip
Operating cost HH-60 rescue helicopter: $3700 hr.
Getting out of Denali Park alive: Priceless
Well it's not a headline if someone gets trapped. But if your young,dumb, and full of... well you get the idea two young girls alone in the dark in a park brings up the nightmare horror movies that where made. The what if's take over.
Maybe with an activity such as climbing Denali I can see seeking to recoup costs, or even require a hefty deposit in case a rescue needs to be launched. But with something like "hiking" - how does one determine who "should" and "should not" be charged for a rescue effort? If an experienced hiker gets hurt, are they "clear" and not responsible for costs? What about a moderately experienced person who has a map and a compass, and who asked a ranger a bunch of questions before taking off? What if the person lost their map and compass in a river or a fall? If you can't "prove" they brought one, do they get charged?
It just doesn't make much sense to me. 'Course I bring a geologist wherever I go, and he brings a topo map and a compass. So far so good. ;-)
Dark? What dark?
Speculation as to how they ended up missing for 5 days is one thing, demanding they pay back the money is a whole other.
The very notion that they should pony up money is ludicrous. These services exist for a reason.
That's a good point as I understand they didn't call anyone for help they had a cellphone which the family went out on a limb to say they thought they didn't have not the two girls the families that caused the manhunt! Dark was used as a scenerio. About two girls being lost might bring up read the whole comment.
They shouldn't be liable for search and rescue costs. It's public service that we all pay for and we all get to use when we need it.
I'm with mackie and definitely with Christina on this.
Asking these two to pay for search and rescue efforts is a bit on the ridiculous side. Anyone can run into trouble, even experts. I don't know how many of you remember Ray Genet who was a very experienced mountain climber and knew McKinley like the back of his hand. Well Ray died on McKinley when I was in High School because of a rookie mistake. If Ray could get into trouble, anyone can.
Oops. Genet died while descending Everest. My bad. Can't trust this memory any more... Anyway Genet died of carbon monoxide poisoning because he had his stove in his tent.
geez, so they were found and now they are lost again??? whats going on out there?
They haven't been found yet...
What, all of the sudden cellphones no longer have automatic GPS? Of course the authorities know exactly where they called from.
In huge expanses like Denali Park it can take a while before they are located, especially if the young ladies do not start a CONTROLLED signal fire that puts out black smoke... Like melting some plastic in a small fire ring.... The cell signal was probably very weak and they only got a general description of the location.... That is a huge park; if the girls are disoriented then it will lead to a number of false suppositions on their part... That could lead searchers astray. I hope the girls put out a real signal and stay put in CONTRASTING LANDSCAPE....
Este,
All cellphones don't have GPS. And even if they do, it is probably a cheap version. Professional units (Trimble, Military) are more acurate because they use more satellites to triangulate the position. More data equals a better location.
When you fire up a GPS, it looks for the satellites it knows about. Satellites change by location and by time. If you fire it up at the same time in the same place it can still take up to five minutes to get a good "lock". It can take even longer if conditions aren't right.
My guess is, the cell phone had a cheap GPS. They were saving battery power, so the call wasn't that long. They may have pinged a satellite or two and got a ballpark figure of where they are. Maybe with a mile or so, maybe within 10 or 20 miles.
Hopefully they sit still, still have their wits and can signal searchers. At least they know the general area to look now.
When I've camped in the park I've always had to turn my phone off. The battery gets drained searching for a tower signal.
Geez, people. Keyboard quarterbacking at its finest. Maybe these ladies, once found, will OFFER to pay for their rescue. Maybe they will volunteer their time and experience to help prevent this kind of thing in the future.
Regardless, paying for the search effort is likely the last thing on the minds of Flanz, Nelson, their families, and would-be rescuers. Why are you so worried about it right now? Gripe about it all you want once they’re safe.
Wow, this is getting weirder. So far I'm not impressed with the rescue operation-- do you think the girls should have to pay less or more each day the search continues?
For those of you interested in learning more about cell phone triangulation and location, let me point you to Section II of (http://to.swang.googlepages.com/ICC2008L...) (PDF reader required) this International Conference on Communication presentation.
Without knowing the model of cell phone, there's only so much an outside observer can guess about the triangulation method being used.
I say go after. You can tell they have alot of money because they work for Princess.
The state will probably need a team of expert lawyers. They'll have to fly in experts from all over. Great use of state money. The defendants, with no money, can use state lawyers to defend themselves. Awesome. So, we can pay state money for lawyers to argue with each other so we can get nonexistent money from some poor hikers.
Yeah. Go after them. The lawyers need more money.
Geez! Where is the Alaskan compassion? I guess people are not allowed to make mistakes. Not to mention we have no idea what happened to these girls as to why they were delayed in coming home. I hope that none of you that are griping about money ever need assistance from an emergency service.
What if this was your daughter, granddaughter, niece, girlfriend, or just a friend. Well these girls are that to some one. I beginning to wonder why so many people are so negative lately. I thought we lived in the golden heart, not the heart made of stone.
I saw an interesting comment on the ADNs website for this story. Someone suggested that we shouldn't fight forest fires any more if they were human caused, and should save our tax dollars because it was peoples own fault if they build in the woods.
Seems like a pretty fair comparison to me. Just because someone "caused" themselves to get lost, or a fire doesn't mean we shouldn't do anything about it. Or ruin their lives by charging them 100,000 to get rescued.
Thank God they are now with their families and safe!
have you forgot about the fire a few years ago that a idiot threw out ashes in the woods near clear afb that almost burned nenanna? that guy has to pay for damages. so yes make them pay for their stupidity
you know im reading this and wondering how in the hell does froznak sleep at night. i pay taxes just like most everyone else, the fact that they are found and it wasnt a chopper or search team but the fact there cell phone found a signal and worked, it makes no nevermind either way, fact is simple, they got lost, people went looking for them, they were found a couple days later. everyone is ok and no one is hurt, thats what counts, what if they were stuck somewhere with broken bones sitting there hoping someone would find them? knowing alot of people are looking for you, that would be a great feeling, however because of people like froznak they would rather that oh they didnt need the help this time so they should pay for everything. me personally if i would a got a call and they asked me to help, i would grab my truck and 4 wheeler and go help out anywhich way i could, and wouldnt want nothing at all for it.
I've tried to stay out of this, but woodman, you're right. These two are someone's DAUGHTERS. Well, when I was in my 20s and "invincible," I did insane things like hike alone through the National Parks in Utah, but with one serious difference. Before I'd leave for the day, I'd call home and tell my mom where I was, where I was going, and that I'd call in before 8pm to let her know that I was back at the campsite. When I was hitchiking through the U.K., I'd call every couple of days just to check in. When my son was born (11 years ago today), mom put her arm around me and said, "So, he's 21, knows it all, and says he's going to backpack through Europe. You say--" "Over my dead body!" I replied, and realized how being a parent had changed my attitude. She smiled and said, "No, the correct answer is--here's a calling card, I'll drive you to the airport." I love my mom -- I'd never have dreamed of doing anything like this to worry her. THAT'S my biggest beef with these two. You added to your moms' grey hairs and caused them probably more sleepless nights than when you were teenagers. There's a huge difference between being out for 48 hours and 5 days. I can't believe I'm going to sound like my mother (in her most NY accent) "You couldn't just pick up the phone and call...." :-) Glad you're safe. Now go hug your folks. :-)
They were only planning on being gone over night, and 48 hours isn't that long to be out of contact.
Obviously one of the girls did call her mom, probably as soon as they were able to get a signal, somehow I don't think they planned on being gone for 5 days....
If I was closer I would help and would not dream of charging the young ladies anything for my efforts. They have learned a lot and so have others in the area who work near the Park. Hopefully this will help prevent other mishaps. Nice to hear that they are back with their families where they belong. My 2 cents... No charge for the mishap... "Stuff happens." Just great that all, searchers and "rescued" are fine. I'd be willing to bet that the rescuers have learned a few things too. The lessons learned will help on the next "Lost Hiker" call.
Just a fast little fact...it is not legal to have a cell phone unless it has GPS capabilities due to Homeland security. Everyone makes mistakes, these girls got turned around and confused. This is why I have always been a firm believer in some sort of traning or classes to show and teach people who have not lived in or gone back packing, hiking, camping in Alaska...It is not just some other state here. Im glad that they are ok, but I also hope that people will learn from this. As far as the girls paying for the S&R I tend to lean towards not making them pay for it, it was an honest mistake and they got lost.
froznak: If you get lost in the woods, I promise not to look for you.
At McMurdo Station Antarctica, when going on a long hike, you are required to take a radio with you and make position reports. Easy and free. You would think that Princess or the Park would have a policy for employees like this.
I just wanted to say I am praising the Lord for helping them to safety.
For the compassionless folks out there that seem to have a lot of time to find fault instead of REJOICING a couple of daughters were FOUND and SAFE.. go do something productive in your yard or house or take time to kiss your wife and family if you have one....and if you don't .. your dog..and if you dont have a dog.. your cat..and if you dont have a cat.. go do your dishes or rake your yard and wear off your negative attitude that clouds and brings dishonor to our beautiful great state and the KINDER people that live in it.
Not afraid to post my name either.....
Kathy
Close the park to people they can look at pictures and save money!
aframe:
McMurdo and Denali Park (in summer!) are not analogous. Anyway, if they had been able to give position reports, they wouldn't have been lost, right?
Requiring people to stay in radio contact would be silly (and a logistical nightmare), but it would be nice for employers like Princess and Doyon to have GPS units available for their employees to use while hiking.
These gotta be the dumbest babes at Denali....they got off the bus and walked down the Savage River. Somehow they couldn't figure out that to get back they just needed to turn around and walk back upriver? They were found on Dry Creek which has a big road-like trail running down the gravel bars to Healy...To get there they either went down the Savage to Ewe Creek and turned right in which case they walked right by two cabins. or they veered east up the ridges of Mt Healy and went over to Dry Creek...from up there you can see the Pork Road to the north...duh... Anyway I'm glad the Pork Service trail crew had a chance to do something different and got some overtime pay looking for these bimbos... Figures they work at Princess...bunch of dorks...and they call it the wilderness lodge...
From the interview on the KTUU website they were trying to get to Healy. They also may not have been as well educated in the layout of the area as you are.
""Stuff happens." Just great that all, searchers and "rescued" are fine. I'd be willing to bet that the rescuers have learned a few things too. The lessons learned will help on the next "Lost Hiker" call.""
There's a logical comment.
AKSoul, DirkW: We've all done some really stupid things in our lives. Most of us have been extremely lucky and have not had to pay too dearly for our foibles. Don't confuse that with somehow being better or smarter or more skilled. Sometimes you just get lucky, sometimes you get lost in the woods for five days. Now, if these two haven’t learned anything from their adventure, there would be cause to look down your noses at them.
DirkWigdoubt:
Yeah, of course they made mistakes, but at least they were only lost PHYSICALLY. Using words like "babes" an "bimbos" to describe young women that you don't even know suggests that you have some very serious issues, issues with women, issues that are not related to this story. You might want to get some help with that.
Thanks, I needed that...
Let's all think back to our early 20s. (Some of us don't have to think too far back, so it might be easier to recall being a "bimbo" or a "dork".) Remember a moment or two when you said, "Man, that was close!" or "That could have been really bad-- I got lucky." or "What the hell was I thinking?" or "I guess I should have known better."?
Come on, we've all had those moments. Unfortunately, these two ladies get to have this moment played out across the country. At least my "bimbo" moments are only known to a few close friends and myself.
i see on tv that they think it is so funny
Im sure they are not thinking it is so funny, I am pretty sure they got the heck scared out of them being lost, I wonder if they watched the movie "into the wild"? Sheeesh if they would have kept going another day, they may have run into the bus!
Instead of all of us remarking on this we should all just be thankful it wasn't one of our loved ones and be glad that we are in such an amazing state with the people that are willing to spend their time searching for those that have been turned around. I would hope that if i became lost, the people of this state would come look for me!
Can we all just chill out here? A couple of kids got lost, they had enough sense to survive, and they are back with their families. This is good news. We should all be happy for them.
im with ya 100 percent nonpartisan. i know it dont take much to get turned around. and stuff happens, this one has a happy ending. why cant people leave it at that. instead all they find joy in is mocking everyone from the safety of there computer chair.
Thank goodness they were found.
I'm glad they're safe and sound, and that the searchers got to enjoy the Park for a few days with a happy ending.
It's surprising that it was so hard to find them given the search effort-- they weren't trying to evade searchers, and there was relatively good information about where they could be, especially after the first phone call.
I guess it's good to know if I ever get really lost that I should be prepared to wait for several days and I should do as much as possible to be findable.
What I learned from following this story is don't count on a massive search and rescue formulated from Denali finding you any time soon. Good intentions didn't find them, if they wouldn't have had that cell phone I believe this story would not have had a happy ending hard to dispute the facts on this one.
So how come us tax payers have to foot the bill for the two stupid idoits????????
I'm glad that they are OK. I am waiting to hear their story as to why they couldn't signal any aircraft. No reflective material or no smoke making ability? Maybe just no outdoor common sense at all. This does come with age and experience.
lucky...naive and foolish...but lucky...glad they are safe...
I glad they are okay. Lucky, sure had the good Lord watching over them. Can one carry a flare gun in the park?
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