Not All Successful Search and Rescues end well

[erugs]

In Maine, two women were lost, then found. Then the drove away and went into the water. They called for help, but their car sunk and they drowned. Sad story, of course, when two young people die, but it also brings up the question again of the term "hikers" as used in the story.

http://www.pressherald.com/news/mai...uffs-state-park-amy-stiner-melissa-moyer.html

 

[RoySwkr]

I will start the second-guessing with 2 statements:
* They may have been mildly hypothermic from their hike but either didn't have dry clothes or with home being nearby just decided to change there
* Someone speculated that they stayed in the vehicle as it gradually sank expecting someone to tow it back ashore, is it possible that the electric locks shorted out and the sliding doors wouldn't open manually? [Years ago I watched some people drive a van across an icy pond, they trumped the stuck-door scenario by driving with the sliders open.]

 

[Breeze]

There was a death in Lamoine Maine in Sept 2011 that bears some resemblance to this sad incident in Machias. A woman driving from her son's wedding reception in Bar Harbor to her lodging in Hancock made a right instead of a left in dense fog and drove off route 184 into Eastern Bay at Lamoine Beach. It is another place in rural Maine where the road abruptly ends without adequate signage at the waters edge, and becomes a boat ramp into tidal waters.

I'm not a stranger to driving in dense coastal fog, in Hancock County especially. For a couple years I worked in Brewer, lived in Hancock, worked the bar-closing shifts, so was picking my way home at 2- 3 AM, and did so mainly with the assistance of roadside reflectors on mailboxes for some long dark stretches between Brewer and Ellsworth, then Hancock to the Point.

Fog at night can be a dangerous business, for sure.

Breeze

 

[max]

"Their vehicle was found under water Tuesday night, about 175 feet off the Pond Cove boat ramp. Rescuers located it when they saw bubbles rising to the surface of the water."

Sounds like they probably stayed inside the vehicle (for whatever reason) while it floated out before sinking. Tragic for sure, but seems like they could have gotten out in time.

 

[Lawn Sale]

They were found near the back of the minivan, which would have been the only place inside with air, since the engine would be weighing the van down in the front. Speculation is they could not open the doors due to the water pressure on the outside, but when the inside filled with water, they sought the trapped air instead of opening a door. Some vehicles, however, will keep the door locked until the vehicle is in park, and there has been some speculation that they could not open the door because the electrical system shorted out. There is always a manual override, but they probably weren't thinking clearly at that point. The trapped air also caused the van to float, which is why they were found so far from shore.

Tragic, for sure.

 

[iagreewithjamie]

Everyone should have a window punch. They cost 5 bucks, and will live in your glove box forever and ever until you need it. You shouldn't need one if you live in NH - it's my understanding that everyone there has a gun in the glove box, which will accomplish the same thing.

http://www.activeforever.com/window-punch-emergency-car-window-breaker?adtype=pla&gclid=CKH3lqXz1LgCFYik4AodtkEA3w

 

[BillG]

I would guess that they were still in shock from being lost while hiking, had impaired judgement, and should not have started driving home. (I would also guess that they were offered medical attention after their rescue, which they refused.) Such a sad story.

 

[Dave Bear]

Everyone should have a window punch. They cost 5 bucks, and will live in your glove box forever and ever until you need it. You shouldn't need one if you live in NH - it's my understanding that everyone there has a gun in the glove box, which will accomplish the same thing.

http://www.activeforever.com/window-punch-emergency-car-window-breaker?adtype=pla&gclid=CKH3lqXz1LgCFYik4AodtkEA3w

What, your Iphone doesn't have an app for that? These punches were originally used for layout work in machining and got adopted into use by EMT, paramedics, and other First Responders. I've had them for years and sometimes one will be in the vehicle. More often a good heavy hammer or like you said the pistol would work but I'd hate to think someone would catch a ricochet. I've been in the water in a floating minivan and though it was not deep enough to drown it is suprising how fast the water comes in. The back was floating in ours even with a load of gear for our family car camping for a week. I would think I would want to kick out the front windshield well before the water pressure was strong on the other side. This is something that would require quick reactions, strength and confidence which they may have lacked some or all considering what lead up to the tragedy.

 

[Lawn Sale]

Everyone should have a window punch. They cost 5 bucks, and will live in your glove box forever and ever until you need it. You shouldn't need one if you live in NH - it's my understanding that everyone there has a gun in the glove box, which will accomplish the same thing.

My car doesn't have a glove box. Even then, how many people even remember what's in their glove box now?

And you expect people to have one of these things at the ready when 99.99999999999999999999% of the people in the US won't ever need one. Heck, some cars today don't even have spare tires!

This was an avoidable accident, but the conditions were just right for these people to perish nonetheless. Sometimes you can't fix that.