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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
James Liddell

Handwritten notes help rescue missing mother and son in California forest

  • A mother, Tami Laird, 49, and her nine-year-old son, Stirling, were rescued after being stranded for over 24 hours in a remote Californian forest.
  • They became lost after following a GPS route that led them onto logging trails, where their Nissan Sentra eventually got stuck and Laird lost mobile phone signal.
  • To aid their rescue, Laird wrote handwritten notes detailing their predicament and location, which she left on the road, along with a trail of rocks and cloth strips.
  • Her son periodically blew a whistle as an international distress signal, while Laird switched on the car's hazard lights overnight.
  • A volunteer search and rescue team, already training nearby, discovered the notes, significantly accelerating the timeline for finding the pair and reuniting them with their family.

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