Yesterday 16 year old Bryanna Barnes of San Diego left her group at Portugese Overlook near Mammoth pool in the high Sierra Nevada mountains to "go behind a tree and change her clothes". She never came back. A search was started and today at noon she was found. The way they found her was interesting. The searchers were driving the back roads in the area and calling her name on a bullhorn. They would then stop and listen. They heard three blasts from a whistle, the universal distress signal, and sure enough it was her. The newspaper said shewas a "Girl Scout" and always carried the whistle for safety. You can read the whole story here:
http://www.fresnobee.com/406/story/1499164.html This story is kind of odd and I'm not sure why she disappeared. It seems a bit fishy.
Anyway, this brings up a good point. I carry the whistle in the photo below. I've had it since it was issued to me in the Army. Its very loud and its come in handy a few times. If my wife and I are out in the boonies and I go off by myself, she blows a prearranged signal on her Fox 40 if she needs me and I respond with a similar signal on mine to let her know I heard her. It works great.
4 comments:
I think a good loud whistle should be a mandatory part of any outdoor kit. Voices wear out, especially if you are injured. A whistle is loud and piercing and unidirectional to help folks find you. Good post!
Mungo
I'm with mungo on this - also the shrill sound carries much further. You can blow all day, but not shout all day too.
I'm glad the story had a happy ending, but I agree it's rather odd that the girl disappeared.
John
Wow, this is pretty scary, things actually happen like this.
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