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Lee Bower[/SIZE] is with
Stephenie Chung and
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4 others[/SIZE]
[SIZE=.9375rem] [/SIZE]at
Cougar Buttes Off Road Riding Area.
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Lucerne Valley, CA ·
[SIZE=.9375rem]NOTE: I’m posting this long story for myself to help remember what happened.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=.9375rem]Well, I’ve had a bit of time to reflect on what was a very emotional Memorial Day weekend. As we commonly do, we went camping out at Cougar Buttes, just outside Lucerne Valley and Johnson Valley, for a weekend of riding our dirt bikes. Sunday afternoon, around 3:30-4:00 pm, we heard from our neighbor camp that a boy from a few camps away was lost in the desert. I rode over to their camp to get more information. The 5-year-old boy had been missing since 2:00 pm, when the family was getting ready to go on a ride. Apparently, they thought the boy, Otto, was just going to warm up around camp, when they were briefly distracted. In no time, the boy was out of sight. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=.9375rem]I went back to our camp to tell my family and the Surmons, who were camping with us. My daughter, Heather, quickly suited up and got on her bike to search along with Bob and John Surmon. We split up and quickly canvased the area. Being on bikes, we could travel the area fast, and since we’re standing up, we could see for quite a way. I found one group of campers who said that they saw the kid, which implied that he went a different direction than originally reported. A little later, sheriffs were on scene with a helicopter covering a wide area. No luck. Based on the area we covered, I knew he wasn’t there. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=.9375rem]Later on, I had a hunch of which direction he went. John and I went out to explore that hunch, and I lucked out and found PW50 tire tracks in an area with no other tracks. The tracks turned around, leaving shoe prints as well. This was surely the boy’s tracks. John and I continued in the direction I suspected they went, but it was getting dark, and John’s bike didn’t have a light. We went back to camp and reported our findings. Interestingly, we happened to be there while the sheriff was sharing their findings with the family. There was one scenario they were pursuing that might have involved another couple people who were camping nearby that seemed rather scary. I had seen the potential suspects the day before, and felt that they were quite sketchy, so I believed it was plausible. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=.9375rem]After that, one of the family members called out a baby rattle snake on the ground about 5 feet away from John and I, heading away. Meaning, it could have gone right under us. In my haste to get out and search, I wasn’t riding in full gear. I only had hiking shoes, shorts, tee-shirt, and an open-face moto-trials helmet. I could have easily been bitten! Heck, I could have accidentally stepped on it and been bitten! A shovel was used to behead the critter. No, not by John or me. I know, these are good creatures, but…[/SIZE]
[SIZE=.9375rem]After dinner, I put on proper riding gear and went over to the family, and they said there was a report with maybe a video or picture of the boy around 2:30 pm, in the direction of travel from where I saw marks. This gave me new hope. Well after dark, Bob and I went hunting the area where the report came from. We occasionally ran across search and rescue teams driving their assigned grids. We weren’t finding anything. A couple blocks away hours later, we got our big break; we found tire tracks. We reported them to one of the sheriffs driving around. They were still looking for a better confirmation, which is understandable – dirt bike tracks in this area weren’t uncommon. They had a picture of the tread from the Converse shoes the boy was wearing. I followed the tracks to where the boy turned and put his foot down. There was the Converse tread! We’re on it! Bob relayed the information, while I chased tracks following the Baja Designs headlight outfitted on the bike aided by my new Slyde King flashlight (I love both those lights!). The boy looped to where we first saw tracks, but this time headed the opposite direction. We followed those tracks down a few blocks to where he turned. The problem was, there were two tracks. We followed the tracks back and around a couple blocks, and back to where we saw the duplicates. It was simply a double-back. By this time, lots of volunteers from off-road and recovery groups were showing up to help. It was approaching 2:00-3:00 am. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=.9375rem]Unfortunately, all these other vehicles were driving over the tracks, making them hard to find. Ones I’d previously seen were gone. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=.9375rem]Bob and I had the unique experience of having kids who rode the same style PW50 bike, so we knew the tracks they made, as well as their riding characteristics. This knowledge, along with the shoe prints, was often useful to help determine the direction of travel, especially during loops and double-backs. With Bob and I being the only ones on dirt bikes, it was easy for us to see and follow the tracks. All the other search parties were in four-wheel vehicles, ranging from side-by-sides to all kinds of 4x4s.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=.9375rem]With so many people there, we’d almost given up for the night. However, I had a hunch of which direction he went. We decided to follow the hunch. As we approached every intersection, we carefully inspect it for tracks. We also checked every entrance to properties. We’d gone at least a mile or two down this dirt road on just a hunch. The hope of this plan was starting to turn bleak. Did he go a different way? No idea. And then I saw a path that veered off from the main road. I initially didn’t see anything, but then I finally found tracks. We’re back in the hunt! The boy was heading back into the hills. We followed the tracks for some time, but in some areas, it was a bit difficult, as other vehicles had been through there since the previous day’s afternoon. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=.9375rem]Fortunately, the boy mostly stayed on the trail, generally only veering off to make U-turns and the occasional turn. At one trail intersection, he went multiple directions with double-backs and loops. It was difficult to keep track of. Fortunately, Bob was tracking our search patterns with his GPS so we could see where we’ve been. Remember, the desert at night looks the same, whichever way you face. Though I was keeping an eye on various landmarks to know where I was, I was admittedly losing track of which route I had explored. Some, I think, I had explored many times. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=.9375rem]The teamwork that Bob and I had as we’d been searching all night was awesome. Whether it was leap-frogging while searching intersections to splitting up to explore various paths, the synergy was awesome. This was the biggest help as a team. We finally got to the point where we were repeating the same loops and double-backs, but not finding another trail. It was about 4:00 am, and Bob’s bike was running low on gas. We went back to camp. Bob shared his GPS information with the command post. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=.9375rem]We went back to camp and gassed up and grabbed more water to carry. After a few minutes, dawn started to break, and we were ready to get back out there. At this point, I was never so motivated. I remember saying to Bob, “Let’s go bring this boy home.” We bombed over to the area where we’d last seen tracks. Despite not having any sleep, I was full of energy. It wasn’t long after being back in the area that other people were out there searching, since Bob had given the coordinates to the rescue officials. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=.9375rem]Unfortunately, people driving in were covering tracks. I was telling this to one guy as he’s walking all over the boy’s foot prints. Sigh… Another guy started to get a little argumentative when I asked him to drive to the side of the trails so as night to cover the boy’s tire tracks. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=.9375rem]Bob and I split up a bit so we could each canvas the area. Again, being on bikes, we could cover ground much faster than the four-wheel vehicles. While I was up on a hill looking about, I saw a coyote running by. You could image my thoughts. Not good. I continued and went back to an area where I’d seen tire tracks before. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=.9375rem]I finally got a lucky break when I saw another track I didn’t recall seeing during the night. It was tough, because things look different at sunrise than they do under the light of the moon. I started following it. This went through some terrain I absolutely knew I hadn’t been on during the night. I followed it away from the search area. The tracks kept going and going. It was a nasty, deep sand wash – especially for a PW50, but the tire tracks were defined well enough. I could see the boy used his feet as outriggers for stability. Nonetheless, this kid was a good rider. We’d known that all night. The tracks went on for some ways. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=.9375rem]I knew he would be at the end of these tracks. However, one thing kept haunting me. Bob mentioned that we might not like what we find. And he was absolutely right. I kept thinking about that. I want to see this out, but it could be bad. I was still super driven, but the anxiety thinking about that was getting to me as I felt I was getting closer. After all, this kid’s bike had to run out of gas at some point, right? After all the searching during the previous day and through the night, I knew not to always trust my eyes. I chased down so many mylar balloons, broken cooler lids, and Bud Light beer boxes because they all seemed to fit the description of the kid or his bike. At least from a distance. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=.9375rem]Up ahead there was a trail that veered off the sandy wash. Just after the split, I see something that didn’t match any of the items above, or any other desert junk. It was too brightly colored. It was him! He was laying on the ground next to his bike. The thoughts of what Bob said haunted me again. As excited as I was, I was scared. I rolled up to the boy. He was wearing his helmet laying next to the bike. His shirt was pulled over his knees, and both of his shoes were sitting on the other side of the bike that was laying on the ground instead of uprighton the kickstand. He was still laying still. But then he started to move and get up. I felt the most overwhelming sigh of relief. I said, “Hey Otto, I’m so glad to see you! Are you OK?” He said yes and took off his helmet. I offered him my water bottle which he held onto and drank for some time. His lips were badly chapped, but he otherwise seemed fine. He was still a bit sleepy, it seemed. I offered him some peppermint candies I had in my pack. He seemed to really like those. I could imagine, having some flavor after not having consumed anything for nearly 16 hours must have been welcoming. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=.9375rem]I called Bob to tell him where I was. He was there in minutes. Nobody in the world can ride that kind of sand wash faster than him. Seriously. While waiting for Bob, I relayed my live location to my wife Stephenie, so she could give it to the search and rescue base. I then posted a picture of me with the boy to one of the Facebook groups I saw while eating dinner I’d seen mentioning the search. At that time, I didn’t know how big the search effort really was. When Bob arrived, he called 911. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that. Seems kind of the obvious thing to do, right? But I guess I was thinking that I have the boy and that there’s no longer an emergency? Note to self: call 911 in these kinds of situations. It was about 6:00 am. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=.9375rem]Bob and I continued talking with the boy. He told us that he ran out of gas. I joked, would you like me to get gas out of my bike and put it into yours, so we can all ride back together. No surprised that he said yes. He went on to tell us that he races his bike, and that he loves it. He said that’s why he didn’t leave it. He said the bike stopped running (out of gas, I’m sure), and he pushed it for about 5 feet up a slight hill. He said that he wasn’t scared at all. He went to sleep after it got dark, but kept waking up because the helmet hurt his ears. That’s seemingly what bothered him the most of this whole ordeal. That is one tough kid! I know a lot of adults who can’t/wouldn’t do as well as this boy did. He was being as talkative and chatty as any other 5-year-old boy. This whole thing – camping alone by himself in the middle of the desert – was seemingly no big deal. As if he’d done it a hundred times. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=.9375rem]Stephenie was with the parents, and they were told that they couldn’t’ come to the boy, but they’d have to wait until he was brought back to the command post by officials. Stephenie and I got each other on the phone again, and she handed it off to the mom so she could speak with her son. This was yet another moment that brought tears to my eyes. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=.9375rem]The CHP airplane flew over a couple times and we all waved. Then they did a really low flyby. That was really neat, and I’m sure Otto loved it. A search and rescue team showed up after about 10-15 minutes. Otto was initially scared of them, until Bob and I assured him that they were our friends. He responded the same to the sheriff and paramedics, who soon thereafter arrived to check him out. No surprise, he was cleared as being just fine. Bob and I knew that, but they have to do it. They loaded his bike and gear into the back seat of the sheriff’s truck and loaded him up to go. Bob suggested that Otto ask for them to hit the siren, so when they were driving away, we both smiled when we heard it. That was so cool. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=.9375rem]They drove him back to the command base where his family and probably hundreds of people were glad to see him. Bob and I rode the fastest route back we could. Even on dirt roads, it was probably still a 15-minute-plus ride back at speed. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=.9375rem]It was such a joy to see Otto back with his family. And it was a pleasure to be able to speak with the parents under much better circumstances. We took more pictures and answered lots of questions. Kind of funny, but Otto gave me back my Camelbak water bottle that he’d been sucking on the whole time (it was refilled when he got back). I wished I would have told him to just keep it, since he seemed to really like it. Oh such a relief after so many hours of adrenaline driving me. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=.9375rem]We went back to camp to get some food and sit down and rest. I believe Bob took one of his boys’ old helmets to Otto so his ears don’t hurt so much when he rides. I walked our family over to theirs so they could understand that my family is what drove me to push on. I’m still so impressed by that boy, and he’ll always have a special place in my heart. I hope to see him riding someday.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=.9375rem]After we got camp loaded up and drove home, I finally got a nap later that evening, after looking some of the social media and news reports of the situation. I didn’t realize it was so huge. I’ve had a lot of people asking questions. Today, I finally checked the GPS coordinates, and I found that the boy was about 4 miles from his camp, as the crow flies. Of course, that would be impossible with that terrain. I mapped his routes based on the tracks, and I found that his route was at least 16 miles, just based on what I know of for sure. He could have gone more. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=.9375rem]Anyhow, I’m glad their family is whole, as well as mine. This could easily happen to anyone. We’ll all live on to ride another day and tell this story many, many times. I’m thankful to know that there is truly hope in people during a real crisis. I saw other campers, local residents, search and rescue, and a lot of the off-road community come together to search for this boy. That was nothing short of awesome. I thank my family for supporting the effort. Stephenie stayed up all night in case I came back needing something urgently. She’s awesome. And, of course, thanks to Bob for being a good friend and supporting my persistence. This was a fortunate happy ending and a learning experience for all.[/SIZE]
