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Lost Bend hiker turns up 20 miles from her rig

Lost Bend Hiker Turns Up 20 Miles Away
Search For Her Went Through the Night
From KTVZ.COM News Sources
August 28, 2011

A Bend woman who failed to return from a day hike in the Cascade Lakes with her two dogs triggered an all-night search involving nearly 30 people that ended when the woman turned up 20 miles from where she’d
headed out, unhurt and in good shape, authorities said.

Deschutes County 911 dispatchers got a call around 9 p.m. Friday from concerned family members who said Dianne Billingsley, 45, had gone for a day hike in the Cascade Lakes area with her two Jack Russell
terriers and had not returned, said sheriff’s Deputy Liam Klatt, assistant SAR coordinator.

Billingsley, said to be an experienced hiker, was reported to have a small pack with food and water, but was not dressed for an overnight stay, family members said. She also had a cell phone with her, but attempts to
call her went unanswered, Klatt said.

At first, it was not known exactly where Billingsley had decided to go hiking, Klatt said, but her vehicle later was located at the Horse Lake Trailhead.

All attempts to obtain GPS coordinates for Billingsley’s cell phone were unsuccessful, Klatt said. Limited cell phone coverage in the area meant only that searchers knew the woman was on the move.
Three sheriff’s deputies and ten Sheriff’s Search and Rescue members headed to the area and searched for Billingsley through the night, the deputy said. Another 16 SAR members were called in to take over the
search in the morning.

Shortly after 7 am Saturday, Billingsley called 911 to report she had hiked through the night over to McKenzie Bridge in the Three Sisters Wilderness area, about 20 miles northwest of the Horse Lake Trailhead
where she began, Klatt said.

Billingsley located an area resident’s home and was able to use their phone to contact 911.

A SAR member retrieved Billingsley from McKenzie Bridge and brought her back to her vehicle and waiting family members at the trailhead, Klatt said.

SAR officials did not get a chance to interview her to get any further details as to what happened. They told news partner KBND radio they intend to interview her Sunday.

Platt explained that the entire trail is downhill from where she started to where she arrived at McKenzie Bridge, so she may have decided it was easier to keep heading downhill then to climb back to where her car was parked.
Copyright 2011 KTVZ. All rights reserved.



Selected Comments from readers:
Nick 86
This makes no sense at all, so far.

Mike Bedford reply to Nick 86
Nick, 10 hours later and it still makes no sense!

Robert Speik
A couple of observation can be noted, despite the lack of information from SAR.

First, and easiest, If the cell phone is turned off, it will not ping available cell towers. If the cell phone coverage had been tested in previous hours (I am not sure how far back the ping records are kept: hours, days,
weeks?), the cell phone location could be triangulated and projected and "GPS Coordinates" could be made available to SAR as required by FCC Regulations.

Secondly, if all of the coverage is provided by Verizon (with CDMA technology), any other providers' cell phone will not "see" the Verizon towers and no contact will be made.

I would guess Dianne Billingsley did not have a topo map or compass, let alone an inexpensive GPS or SPOT satelite locator/communicator. But, of course, she probably did not intend to become lost.

It will be interesting to learn more from SAR.

Margaret Speik
My wife has pointed out that, experienced or not, this hiker failed to agree with a "Reliable Person", a time to call 911 and advise with SAR that this hiker was overdue. A call at 4:30 pm is better than a call at 9 pm, for both the hiker and SAR. The information to be relayed to SAR should include the proposed Trail Head, the make, model and color of the rig and the license number. SAR will want to physically check the fact that the hiker's car is unattended in the parking area, confirming the need to call out the trained volunteers and set up "command and control" communications at the Trail Head.

The informed Reliable Person is the best you can do, if you do not have an inexpensive cell phone service (available for $10. to $20 per month). SAR does not respond unless requested, of course.

My wife notes that this experienced hiker did not carry light rain pants and jacket, a warm hat, gloves and a light warm jacket in her day pack to keep her through a cold summer night. A flash light to read the map,
compass and optional common GPS would help, of course. Just an extra pound or so.

Here is a proposed SAR media advisory that has been suggested in the past:

"We would like to take this opportunity to ask our visitors to the backcountry of Oregon to Plan for the unexpected. Each person should dress for the forecast weather and take minimum extra clothing to provide
protection from a drop in temperature and possible rain or snow storm or an unexpected cold wet night out. Each person should carry high carbohydrate snacks, two quarts of water or Gatorade, a topo map and
declination adjusted base plate compass and an optional inexpensive GPS (and the skills to use them together). Each person who has a cell phone should carry their ordinary charged cell phone (from a service
provider that has the best local backcountry coverage). An inexpensive SPOT-2 GPS Satellite Communicator is a good additional option for some. Each person should carry their selected items from the new 'Ten
Essentials Systems' in a day pack sized for the individual, the trip, the season and the forecast weather."

"Visitors are reminded to tell a Responsible Person where they are going, where they plan to park, when they will be back and to make sure that person understands that they are relied upon to call 911 at a certain
time if the backcountry traveler has not returned. Call 911 as soon as you become lost or stranded. You will not be charged. Do not try to find your way until you are benighted, exhausted, or worse yet - wet. Your
ordinary cell phone call to 911 can take the 'Search' out of Search and Rescue."

rfo reply to Robert_Speik
Hi again Bob. I was wondering why all the outdoor stores had stopped their "classes" on issues like this?

I seem to remember all the stores at one time or another giving these classes for free in hopes of educating the public as well as selling essential gear. I used to snow camp up in the cascades for 3-4 days at a time
with the equivalent of an "ascent" pack. This was possible due to free tips and instruction from sporting stores as well as research I did on my own.

I'm wondering where those days have gone? Thanks for the great job you folks do. People have sure kept you busy for the past 8 or 9 months. Yikes!!!

cashus reply to Robert_Speik
Well mister know it all i did have a compass i did have a flash light and i did have plenty of warm gear to get me threw the night as a matter of fact the media reporting on the story did not even speak to me to find out
the true story they went by the sar officer whom i never spoke with directly My phone is a gzone which comes with everything a hiker needs to make it through a forest run that is why i was not worried when the sun
went down. I had plenty of food and water and actually did not need 911 as i took care of myself never called 911 when i found a residence but called my family and for inexpensive cell service what planet are you
living on there is no such thing.

Robert_Speik reply to cashus
Hi Ms. Billingsley! Thanks for your comment.

Yes, nobody knows it all. However, I was a Volunteer Wilderness Ranger and also a SAR Volunteer here for about three years, several years ago, and I did teach this information in several classes for adults over
several years at COCC, several years ago. I have written accident and incident analysis Reports for eleven years for the American Alpine Club, published in their books Accidents in North American Mountaineering,
now in their 64th Annual Edition, 2011.

My hiking buddy suggests I add the following to these comments about lost hiker news releases by SAR:
"By reporting over and over what went wrong in these cases, we learn what to avoid. If you read about avalanche accidents, you'll see that about 80% of the accidents are caused by about the same five mistakes.
There are similar "what went wrong" report's of Kayak accidents. If you are a kayaker who takes on more than Elk Lake, its helps to know the three or four elements that appear common to most incidents. It's called
learning from the mistakes of others and it doesn't happen unless those mistakes are pointed out."

As noted by Barney, your family was worried or they would not have called 911 at 9 pm for SAR assistance. We hope you will call Barney Lerten and let him talk with you about your "rescue". You can help others with your information. We are glad you had a successful hike.

Barney Lerten reply to cashus
Ms. Billingsley? I'm a reporter at KTVZ. Yes, we like other media based the info off the news release from Deputy Klatt, who apparently had not been able to interview you until today(?) If you'd like us to update the
story, or appear in an interview, please contact us at stories@ktvz.com. We often have to rely on authorities' news releases, due to limited staff and often inability to contact the parties involved (or their desire not to
speak with us when we do reach them.) Presumably your family was worried or they would not have contacted the SO? Glad it all turned out well.

Mike Bedford reply to cashus
So sensitive. If gzone has it all why not call out to prevent a search? And, if you're that self-reliant next time walk back to your rig instead of hitching a ride with SAR.
Lastly: not a word of thanks for the people who where looking for you? Really? You should be grateful that when someone in this area is possibly injured on a trail the community rallies to their aide. Shame on you.
Thanks to the searchers for their time and efforts.

cashus
i am very glad for the help i was offered and i hold no fault with the sar people or the state patrol who were doing thier jobs quite well i hold fault with the media releasing a story that not only is not factual but should
have been discussed with the person it involved before ever being released.

Mike Bedford reply to cashus
Thanks for the clarification, Cashus. Your original post made it seem that you were unappreciative of the help you were not only offered, but received. I stand corrected? What parts of the story are not factual? BTW, I've had to hike out at night, not easy, so glad you're safe.

Barney Lerten reply to cashus
PS: I was also led to believe by our news partner that the sheriff's office was likely to issue an updated news release after talking to you, and then we could update it as well.

Barney Lerten reply to cashus
I don't understand - you have no fault with SAR but hold the media responsible for not double-checking everything in their news release? I did not see your name in the phone book, and I knew from a news partner at KBND that the SO had not been able to talk to you, so if they could not reach you I presumed it would be difficult for us as well. So we relied on the sheriff's office's information, as we do countless times a week for reasons I outlined previously. We'd be glad to try to follow up, if you wish.

lyndley billingsley reply to Mike Bedford
she actually called my stepdad for a ride home the next morning, i was at the incident command center it was the choice of sar and the officers to pick her up and take her to the police station because they prefer to
handle these situations by bringing her to us rather then having us go to her they said.. she is very grateful as are her family for the help. perhaps a little less scrutiny of her actions, and more joy over the fact she did find her way out of the forest safe and healthy. it doesnt seem fair to throw her under the bus for things that she had, didnt have, did, didnt do. she did what she had to do to keep herself and our dogs safe and get them out of there and thats all that should matter. and to those who it does matter to, why not focus on the fact she did get out and how she did it? it couldve been a terrible situation, but she didnt let it become one for her.

Mike Bedford to lyndley billingsley
I wish her no ill will, Lyndley, nor does anyone on this forum.

The reason for the scrutiny of her actions (to my mind, at least), would be to prevent similar situations from occurring. Not all hikers could handle a nighttime hike-out with such positive results.
Dianne's full story, complete with things done both right AND wrong, could save a life, and perhaps keep our SAR people out of harms way.

None of this is "throwing her under the bus"; at least thirteen people went out at night to find her, so no, this is about more than her having an adventure.

Personally, all this still seems fairly narcissistic to me. "It turned out all right for me, so what's the big deal?". Not cool.

TimothyDavid reply to Barney Lerten
This should be a lesson for all: not only do reporters often get their facts wrong, but so do those on whom the reporters base their reports. I was personally present for a good deal of the events this story is based on,
and I can tell you that, whoever's fault it is, this story is riddled with errors, as Dianne has rightly pointed out. Robert, I suggest you take what you read in the news with a larger helping of salt and that you spare your
fellow readers long-winded rants based on mere hearsay.

Barney Lerten reply to TimothyDavid
We cannot reinvestigate everything police or other authorities tell us - I guarantee I feel more 'holes' and ask about more inconsistencies in news releases than anyone I know - but we do have a limited staff, and
when provided with better information, we of course will update stories, as I've asked Ms. Billingsley to do. And while he needs no defense from me, Bob Speik runs the Website www.traditionalmountaineering.org and has a great deal of expertise in such matters which he freely shares. If we based it on inaccurate information from authorities, I'm sure we both feel bad about it and are more than willing to correct it.

cashus reply to Barney Lerten
The sar people and the state patrol are to both be honored for the fine job they do. What is not appreciated is that the media releases stories without even speaking to the person involved. After the fact stories are
not okay get the truth and then tell the story as for interviews and the earlier rant just get the real facts before you start.

Barney Lerten reply to cashus
I have written to the e-mail address you used, as this forum is not intended for this type of discussion. I have tried to explain why we did what we did, and when, etc.

Robert Speik reply to TimothyDavid
Hello TimothyDavid (and Lyndley Billingsley, too)-

I will send you my phone number and if you will talk to me on the phone, I will be happy to learn what was done right and what was done wrong in the emergency 9 pm call-out of the 30 Deschutes County Sheriff's
Deputies and Search and Rescue personnel on behalf of Ms. Billingsley.

Judgments of right or wrong will not be based on my personal opinion, but on generally accepted safety standards for backcountry hiking.

One question: Had she agreed with a Reliable Person, what would be the best time (4:30 pm?) to call 911 if she had not returned as planned? Had she noted where she planned to park the car, its make, model, color and license number, where she planned to hike, what gear she carried, etc.? (SAR, in their News Release, reported they were told by family members that she was not prepared to be out overnight and that they were not sure exactly where she planned to hike).

A second question: Was her cell phone fully charged? Why did she not call home? Why did she need to phone from a residence in McKensey Bridge. If Ms. Billingsley had a fully charged GZone Commando smart phone from Verizon, it should have pinged Verizon CDMA towers.

You wrote: "Robert, I suggest you take what you read in the news with a larger helping of salt and that you spare your fellow readers long-winded rants based on mere hearsay." Please note that the dictionary
definition of "rant" is "to talk in a loud wild extravagant way" as in "loud, wild speech". I do not rant. My comments are carefully written, not directed at the rescued individual, but hopefully of some informative value to
the readers. (Thanks for your comment, rfo).

In the words of Mike and Nick in the original posts on this thread: "This makes no sense at all, so far."

http://www.ktvz.com/news/29003889/detail.html

Recent Rescue in the Woods Offers Lessons To All
Wilderness Expert Says Cell Phone, Extra Layers Key
By Alicia Inns, KTVZ.COM
April 6, 2011
Police say 41-year old Clayton Lichtenhahn is lucky to be alive. After crashing his ATV becoming disoriented, the La Pine man was forced to spend a cold night in the woods.

Joie Frazee, one of the owners of Twin Lakes Resort, found Lichtenhahn wandering in the snow, wearing only his underwear, a windbreaker, riding gloves and black boots that had cut into the skin on his shins from
walking 12 miles from where he crashed into a fallen tree.

An outfit too bare for frigid temperatures.

"Considering the temperatures Monday night and the way he was dressed, he wasn't prepared to be outside for a long period of time," said Deschutes County sheriff's Det. Tim Hernandez.

Bob Speik is a wilderness expert in Central Oregon who runs a Website, www.traditionalmountaineering.org. He said Wednesday the most efficient way to take the "search" out of search and rescue is to always carry a cellphone -- a tool police say Lichtenhahn left at home.

"Aside from telling someone where you are going, bringing a cellphone is the most crucial thing," Speik said Wednesday. "Now you can call 911 on a cellphone and by federal mandate, they can locate you by
triangulation from cell towers."

If you do get stranded, hurt or lost, Speik says to stay in one place, tell someone where you are headed before leaving and always carry extra clothing.

He suggests buying maps, a compass and/or a GPS receiver and packing them with the rest of your belongings.

Speik says Lichtenhahn's situation was unexpected but it can teach us all a lesson; Leave Prepared.

"Mr. Lichtenhahn should have stayed with his ATV, because it's easier to see that, but it's hard to see a person," Speik said. "Without a map or compass, he walked 12 miles in the wrong
direction. He was cold, wet and without the proper clothing, and he was lucky to be found by that man."

Lichtenhahn was upgraded to fair condition at St. Charles Tuesday night.

For a full list of the essential outdoor systems visit www.traditionalmountaineering.org.

http://www.ktvz.com/news/27459098/detail.html