Thursday, December 20, 2007

Tree searchers rescued

A family that got lost while searching for a Christmas tree in California has been rescued after sheltering in a wood for three days in heavy snow. Frederick Dominguez and his three children went missing on Sunday near Inskip, 190 miles (305 kilometres) north of San Francisco.

They huddled together in a culvert under a bridge before being spotted by a rescue helicopter on Wednesday. Until then, aerial searches had been impossible because of bad weather.

The family said they got lost going from pine to pine trying to find the perfect Christmas tree, the Associated Press reported.

The four huddled together telling jokes and singing songs for the first couple of days before beginning to grow scared, said Lisa Sams, Dominguez's ex-wife and the mother of the three children.

They were dressed in jeans, sweat shirts and coats. The father had taken off his sweat shirt and wrapped the torn-up fabric around his children's feet.

The helicopter pilot and a paramedic saw Mr Dominguez waving and the word "help" marked in the snow before landing to pick the family up.

3 comments:

yellowdoggranny said...

what do you bet next year they get the phony tree with the lights attached..

dom said...

Nothing wrong with those (rolls eyes)

Anonymous said...

Just a lesson to be learned here:
From Boy Scouts 101, don't leave civilization-even for a car trip without some preparation. Stuff happens! Especially in the West where temps change rapidly. Put basic survival things in your car - IF you leave it bring some of that with you: Waterproof Matches/Fire starter, extra warm clothes, blanket/sleeping bag, compass, food bars. Leave a note if you leave the vehicle where you are going. It could save your life!Remember the oriental family that got stuck on unfamiliar road & father died?