Posted on 03/05/2019 1:36:49 PM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
Their rescue was described as a "miracle," but two girls who were lost in the Northern California forest over the weekend said Monday that they depended on each other to survive and had faith that their daddy was coming to save them.
Leia Carrico, 8, and her 5-year-old sister, Caroline, spoke publicly for the first time, described how they got lost while walking on a deer trail and wandered past a fallen tree on their family's 80-acre property that their father, Travis Carrico, warned them never to go beyond.
"Leia wanted a little, tiny more adventure. But I wanted more," Caroline said of how their misadventure Friday afternoon started.
*SNIP*
The girls were found on Sunday afternoon by two volunteer firefighters about 1.4 miles from their home...Travis Carrico estimated the girls had probably walked six miles before they were found.
Leia said that at one point, she and her sister realized they had walked in a giant circle because they noticed the same metal poles they had already passed. "I wasn't sure which way home was but it turned out that home was way back south," Leia said.
Leia said she and her sister used Caroline's rain jacket as shelter, cuddling together under a huckleberry bush to keep out of the pouring rain and to try to keep warm as nighttime temperatures dropped to 38 degrees.
"My sister cried the whole night," Leia said of the first night they spent lost in the forest. "And I told her to keep happy thoughts of our family."
Caroline said that as her big sister kept watch at night for wild animals, "I thought of going to the park with mommy and daddy. I thought of going to the ocean. I thought of everything but it didn't work."
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
The girls were found about 10:30 a.m. Sunday by Piercy, California, volunteer Fire Chief Delbert Crumley, and firefighter Abram Hill.
*SNIP*
The girls said they will never go far away from their house again until they have a GPS tracker on them, which their mother has already ordered.
"I'm trying not to punish them," Misty Carrico said. "They saved each other. I'm the proud mom. I raised super heroes."
“The key lesson the girls said they followed was to stay in one place once they realized they were lost. “
Apparently they walked six miles in a circle before realizing they were lost!
I read they were also found thanks to food wrappers they drooped.
“the girls said “
Actually:
“Honsal added that one of the best survival lessons the girls utilized was to stay put in their “huckleberry home” once they realized they were lost. “
I can’t say how happy I am for that family that this wasn’t a tragedy.
Smart girls.
“My sister cried the whole night,” Leia said of the first night they spent lost in the forest. “And I told her to keep happy thoughts of our family.”
Getting misty here.
A great outcome for what could have been a very tragic ending.
I have no doubt they had help from the good Lord watching over them.
Give those girls a compass. Old school.
These girls are very well spoken and very smart. That was very obvious and the parents should be very proud as I know they are!!
Sounds like the older one at least understood that, with her comment about south. But the great thing was that the mom didn’t say they’ll never leave home again... she said they’ll get a GPS before they do.
It was also reported that they had learned some survival ideas (if not “skills”) in 4-H, when I saw the story on MSM news yesterday.
Batteries die. Electronics break. Signals get washed out.
How about a map and a compass and some experience on the ground in their use.
Give those girls a compass.
Yep, don’t head out into the woods without one.
From a review of the local terrain, if the girls had just followed the water downhill, they might had come out of the woods fairly quickly.
Exactly. Getting from where you are to where you need to be is not just a metaphore. It is a life skill that electronics cannot replace. How many folks have driven off a mountain or gotten stuck in a snowstorm while blindly following a GPS.
“Old school
Exactly. Getting from where you are to where you need to be is not just a metaphore. It is a life skill that electronics cannot replace. How many folks have driven off a mountain or gotten stuck in a snowstorm while blindly following a GPS. “
Good advice but this old Eagle Scout is gonna cut the 8 and 5 year old some slack and say “Good job”. Oh and thank God too! :)
Mom and Dad taught ‘em right.
“But the great thing was that the mom didn’t say they’ll never leave home again... she said they’ll get a GPS before they do.”
I moved to 160 acres three years ago this Spring. I almost NEVER get lost anymore, but I sure did when I first moved here! Now that I’ve tooled around enough in the woods, I know where I am by the trees and rock features and the pond and the small creek, etc. There are basically three different ‘rooms’ to the property, once you’re in the woods. Finding my way out of the open pasture was never an issue; I can always find the cows, LOL!
And after walking the ENTIRE fence-line doing repairs and cutting down overhanging branches and stacking wood, if I can find a FENCE I’m home free, LOL!
On one of my first trips out here, I got lost in one of, what I would later learn to call, our three ‘draws.’ I just stayed put and yelled for Beau - who eventually found me, LOL! And, of course, he had a good laugh at my expense.
Now he can tell me he’s at ‘so and so’ and I can find him (or get darn close!) with the 4x. Usually it’s to rescue him from a tractor breakdown. ;)
I moved to 160 acres three years ago this Spring. I almost NEVER get lost anymore,
Thank God. Thank you God for bringing these girls home.
A little embarrassing being an Army Veteran, LOL!
However, there are still parts of the world where you could drop me off blindfolded at night, with my flashlight, canteen and compass and I’d beat the chopper back to base! ;)
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