dreaming together at nap time
Monthly Archives: April 2015
the best solutions are often simple, yet unexpected. – julian casablanca
‘our pleasures were simple – they included survival.’ – dwight d. eisenhower
LUCE COUNTY, MI — Two sisters who were missing for nearly two weeks in a remote area of the Upper Peninsula survived on Girl Scout Cookies and cheese puffs.
Lee Wright, 56, and Leslie Roy, 52, were weak but otherwise seemed to be in good condition when a state police helicopter rescued them Friday from a two-track road in northern Luce County, where their Ford Explorer became stuck in deep snow on April 11. The women stayed with the vehicle, which had died earlier this week.
The out-of-state residents relied on eight boxes of Girl Scout Cookies and cheese puffs for food, as well as snow for water.
“It is unbelievably remarkable,” said Michigan State Police Detective Sgt. Jeff Marker, who was one of four rescuers aboard the helicopter. “They had multiple layers of clothes on and they were rationing their food.”
Marker said the helicopter had been searching in the area for about two and a half hours when a sergeant spotted a glimmer in the woods about 2:20 p.m. Friday. That glimmer turned out to be the SUV’s windshield.
“We circled and we could see the vehicle, and then they came out of their vehicle waving their arms,” Marker said.
Wright, from Oklahoma, and Roy, from Nebraska, were traveling in the Upper Peninsula and had visited family in Ishpeming. They were last seen by relatives April 10. The sisters had planned to stay at a Mackinaw City hotel the following day but never arrived.
Their SUV got stuck in snow along Crisp Point Road, about three miles west of Crisp Point Lighthouse on Lake Superior. The road, just wide enough for one vehicle, was impassable, Marker said. Trees line the road.
The women said they tried to call 911 several times but didn’t have cell phone service.
Friday’s rescue came after the second day of searching by helicopter, Marker said. One of the women earlier had sent a Facebook message to a relative inquiring about Tahquamenon Falls, so police homed in on the area.
“Basically there was some mention on a possibility of one of the things they wanted to visit was the Tahquamenon Falls,” Marker said.
Once they landed the helicopter on a beach, police hiked for about 25 minutes to reach Wright and Roy in the woods.
“When we pulled up, they grabbed their purses and Lee Wright clutched onto her Bible and both women were very happy,” Marker said. “It was hugs all around.”
After expressing their relief, the women mentioned that a bear had visited their vehicle two nights in a row.
“They knew it wasn’t rescuers coming for them because rescuers would have flashlights,” Marker said the women told police.
Police called for backup assistance so the women wouldn’t have to hike out the woods. Prior to help arriving, a Grand Rapids family driving four wheelers gave them a ride to the helicopter.
The sisters reunited with family at Luce County Airport and were transported to Helen Newberry Joy Hospital in Newberry for precautionary medical evaluations and treatment.
“The family’s very relieved,” Marker said.
—
story and photo credits: Angie Jackson and John Tunison – MLive
‘instead of trying to make your life perfect, give yourself the freedom to make it an adventure, and go ever upward.’ – drew houston
original team lost in space
current team lost in space
(with a friendly rival)
a bit older and wiser
after our many years
spent in the stratosphere
as we
got ready
to begin
the amazing race
an action-adventure
road rally
scavenger hunt
charity event
in support of the
cancer support community
of ann arbor
and we were all over it
convincing a dog to wear a crown for us
running through the law quad on central campus
in the middle of graduation and a wedding
figuring out morse code
pictograms
word puzzles
scrambles
using clues
pushing the legal limits
to find places all around town
all in four hours
and there were
moments of passion
and high energy
and we became
‘very spirited’
and
had to
make a video
perform a song
complete stunts
unusual tasks
try not to get arrested
solve mysteries
as a team
each with our own strengths
and challenges
and
we came in
27th out of 35 teams
on our path
it was all great fun
as a group of longtime friends
who’ve traveled through time with each other
we learned a lot
about each other
the spirit of adventure
and
the power of giving
and
i was so glad
we didn’t have to
eat any bugs.
—
image credits: 20th century fox television, cbs television, cancer support community of ann arbor
sharing the same meal reaffirms kinship. – deng ming-dao
to my daughters, the 3 h’s.
“sometimes it’s best to hide in plain sight.” ― david estes
hometown, earth.
stating the obvious.
the four crows.
we were a formidable team
my two sisters
one friend
and i
an ad-hoc precinct
fashioning ourselves
the finest of sleuths
solving crimes
all around
our neighborhood
it was our job
our destiny
the four crows
walked the streets
the fields
the woods
looking for clues
to crack puzzles
imagined
and
created
as we
dreamed up
our cases
finding empty pill bottles
asking a neighbor
if he killed his wife
as we hadn’t seen her
found out
that she had died
left a note
for a woman
who yelled at her children
telling her she was too mean
found out
they were adopted
asked her to give them back
we clearly
way overstepped our bounds
as detectives
sometimes
tend to do
all
in pursuit of justice
in an attempt
to right the wrongs
to restore balance
in a community
that didn’t know
they needed us
or that we were
always looking out for them
in the most secret of ways
plainclothes
and
undercover
as a
murder of four crows
all under age 8
—
“the case called for plain, old-fashioned police leg work!”
― donald j. sobol, encyclopedia brown, boy detective