a crashed red car in the ravine
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Officials determine the man’s vehicle ran off the road and came to rest approximately 50 feet west of the highway, and then down a 60-foot ravine embankment.

The driver suffering incapacitating injuries stayed in the vehicle until 2:00 p.m. when a local resident witness was in the area, shooting skeet.

The driver heard the witness and used his own rifle accompanied by verbal calls for help to gain the attention of the witness.

The witness heard additional gunshots and the calls for help and followed the sounds until he located the crashed vehicle.

— Reem Ikram in Missing Duchesne person found crashed in ravine, shoots rifle to call for help

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26 COMMENTS

  2. This is why I carry a lot of the stuff that I carry. There have been a number of similar incidents in PA over the years.

    The one that really stuck with me and got me carrying a lot of this stuff was a lady that went off the road up by Jim Thorpe. She was not found until spring but the medical examiner estimated she had been alive for days or a week or two after the crash. She died of exposure. Hikers found her.

    The reason it got me is because I was working some small 1 horse town hospitals up there at the time. I drove right past where she was hundreds of times and never had a clue there was a car off down the cliff. I drove right past her while she was still alive and never knew she was there.

    • Quite the story you have…not your fault. Was this years ago before cell phones and beepers? I nearly went over into a ravine circa 1973 with a girlfriend. We got out and returned later to find my car flipped over. My 1st car too😞 1962 Ford Galaxy 500. It was a rocket! Had to google Jim Thorpe as I never knew it existed…

        • From my youthful memory my Galaxy 500 had a 390 engine & Thrush mufflers. Drove 120mph. I’m lucky I’m alive possum…

        • Mom’s ’61 Ford Falcon, 85 entire horses, would go 87 mph if you had enough space, would also carry6 people if they were high school boys.

        • 62 Falcon here. Myself and another teeny bopper went sideways and rolled it on the shoulder of a gravel road. It belonged to my brother in law and he was pissed. No seat belts and we were like pretzels on the headliner with the dome light below. Radio was still playing. It was a 4 door and the only reason he didn’t kill us so he says.

        • Pontiac Star Chief. That thing was a barge. Steering wheel like a chariot wheel and chrome every where. No seat belts. They were just an option then.

    • Jim Thorpe, great mountain biking and a beautiful town – “Switzerland of America” I believe is what someone called it. I was last there 20 years ago. There was an abandoned night club up on the bluff. A local said that Lawrence Welk used to play there.

  3. A man would have to be desperate to fire off precious ammo as a signal. I wonder if his insurance will make good his loss?

  4. That’s pretty neat, used to be , well around here anyway, three slow shots was distress. Beep beep beep beeeeep beeeep beeeep beep beep beep, too. , ,, Off topic, Has anyone heard of a bird called a Rain Crow? I was thinking of ways my grandpa used to know it was going to rain. And wondered if anyone else had heard of a Rain Crow

  5. He’ll be charged with discharging a firearm too close to a traveled road as soon as he’s released from the hospital.
    Only kidding. They’ll just trake his gun.

    • Nah it’s Utah. And it’s more the sportsman’s area of Utah at that. But I get the pessimistic point of view nonetheless. It would only make sense that the people coming to help would take their pound of flesh.

  6. A 100mw laser pointer, or even a 1-2 watt Spartan or Spider laser pointer is a fine signaling device when pointed up in the air. Just make sure you check the sky first and make sure there are no planes, don’t point them at anyone either, they can blind within a split second. I don’t know if it was the ANA (Afghan national army) using them for position reports or if it was some kid who got his hands on one, but you could see it in the sky from quite a distance. I doubt they were from kids because those pointers were $10/ea despite being made in China, a little expensive for a kid to have. Use UV glasses with them too, no UV filter and green lasers produce quite a bit of it.

    A one watt laser can be seen easily for several miles. It’s a federal felony and a big one to shine them at aircraft, so don’t do it! But, if you are miles out in the bushes with two broken legs and dying in the cold, no cell service, etc, well, it’s your judgement call. It’s pretty much guaranteed to get a game warden or a dozen of em, the sheriff, cops, SWAT, DHS, CIA, maybe even the IRS and a bail bondsman all swarming your position.

    • In a perfect situation, sure.

      In an emergency, you grab what you can. I mean, maybe he had other tools available and all they heard was the rifle, or maybe things were ejected from the vehicle.

      Personally, I would have used smoke signals.

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