|
Two Women Lost Overnight Near Pyramid Peak
November 1995
On Sunday November 19, 1995 Sierra West, Mounted and Management teams responded to the Wrights Lake area to look for two missing women on Pyramid Peak.
Dawn, 48, and Terri, 41, had last been seen near the top of the mountain about 2:30 Saturday. Dawn was wearing blue jeans and jacket, while Terri had on a spandex top and bottom and a sweater. The women were not familiar with the area, but did have a few supplies in their packs.
Dale Durner began a callout for Mounted, Management and Sierra West about 10 p.m. Saturday night. SAR people were told to report to the Lyons Creek Trail (aka the Lake Sylvia trail) between 7 and 8 the following morning.
First priority was given to the Lake Sylvia area, and early-arriving Mounted members started up the trail as soon as it was light enough. The cabin at Upper Forni was also a high probability (since its lights could be seen from Pyramid Peak) and a team of foot searchers was sent there about 7 a.m.
The morning was clear and very cold. Temperatures were below freezing, and frost covered the ground. Ice-covered streams and ponds were everywhere.
The mystery was solved just before 8:30. John Glenn and Terry Menees were on horseback about halfway to Lake Sylvia when they found the two lost women walking down the trail. Dawn and Terri were ecstatic at being found after a shivering, sleepless night.
Later, sipping coffe on a truck tailgate in CP, the women told their tale. When it was time to leave the mountain Saturday afternoon, they couldn't find Galen, their friend and guide. They started down without him, but were thrown off course by a small lake which they mistook for Lake Sylvia.
About an hour after sundown, deep in the forest, they realized they had no hope of finding their way out that night. As the last light was fading they found a spot between two logs and rested there. They built a windbreak out of bark and lay branches on top for a roof. Then they inventoried their supplies: some water, a little food, a Swiss Army knife and a metal police whistle.
All night, noises coming out of the total darkness scared them. They opened the Swiss Army knife blades (all of them) for a last ditch defense against marauding animals. Then they kept watch all night and never slept.
Several times they thought they heard search dogs barking and howling. Then Dawn would yell and Terri would blow her whistle to get the dogs' attention. No search dogs arrived, but about 4 a.m. a group of Boy Scouts showed up. According to the women, the scouts "were great". Among other things, the Scouts wrapped the shivering women in a warm sleeping bag.
When it got light the Scouts guided the women to the Sylvia Lake trail and pointed them in the right direction. About four miles further west they found John Glenn and Terry Menees near the trail to Bloodsucker Lake.
At the CP, the women were mortified to learn that the "search dogs" they were trying to attract were probably coyotes - the search hadn't started until Sunday morning. They also said that they were very careful to pick up every scrap of trash - it was good housekeeping, but it made for scarce clues.
Nevertheless, the women were astonished and grateful at the effort the SAR teams made to find them. Terri's comment was, "Thank you - you all were wonderful."
|