Squirrel hunter barely survives.

some folks just should not go into the woods.

Despite how most Americans feel these days, we do NOT live in Disney land.
 
This guy did have some kind of water container, so that could have boiled his water, hung over the fire. Then again, he didn't bother to use the shotgun shells to start a fire. Classic case of being stupid IMO, unprepared, no map, no compass, no fire starter, no clue.
 
I hate to sound like a jerk, but this guy had all the right gear, all he needed was a bit MORE gear, and a whole helluva lot more BRAINS. Why not sit down, and start a fire, eat my squirrel and wait. basically, he almost died of stupidity, and I am usually the guy that says..."glad this turned out ok, and he did alright", but damn, what was he thinking? Oh, thats right, he wasnt....
NO knife? I havn''t ever thought of going hunting without a knife??? How do you skin what you kill? A BIC lighter can do a lot to.
Basically, not to sound all "holier than thou" but I would have looked at a map and just walked out. They give you maps at most state parks...sure they arent 1/50,000 scale topo's, but they can get you out alive.
 
If he had walked East into the morning sun he would have been out. If he had walked South, he would have been in Memphis.
 
he could have followed a creek (dry or wet) down to wherever it was going. that helps reduce the chances of backtracking / walking in circles.


it wasn't the jungle, but insect bites were an issue.
 
He had a water bottle he could of suspended it and boiled water. he had a gun and should have been able to get some kind of small game and cook it. If he had a watch with hands he could have used it to tell direction and head straight instead of bumbling in circles. Someone was joking about the bear grylls knife but it would have been better that no knife and it would have given him a ferro rod.

And why would you go hunting without a knife to clean your game?
 
You clean the game back at the truck sipping a few beers?

Following the creek sounds like a good idea.
 
What a crappy place to get lost in.
A glance at an area map to see what direction the nearest roads would be, and a compass to maintain direction would have probably turned that 5 day ordeal into a 30 minute detour. Swamps aren't kind to the ill-prepared.
 
5 days without safe water to drink? I think he was very lucky not to have died of de-hydration coupled with inevitable stomach upset. He must have been wandering around in circles as well. A whistle is always useful to signal people nearby, gunshots will often just be dismissed as hunting...A compass is a simple must, just to maintain direction, that and taking a look at a general map of the area beforehand. Yes, he was lucky....
 
He might have shortened his 5 day ordeal by 4 days if he just stayed where he was and hunkered down once he discovered that he was lost. I understand, though, that he wanted to find the truck and his buddies. But staying within a few hundred yards would have been a big help.

An even bigger help would have been a Blackberry or similar GPS-equipped device. Those things are awesome, even when you are out of cell range.
 
The subject was less than 20 miles from Memphis the whole time. He could have given a "man vs. wild" commentary on the Memphis radio station for five days running if he had carried a cell phone..
 
I go walking around in meeman Shelby state park all the time. ITs not a dense jungle, it's not difficult terrain, there's little creeks and trails and roads all over the park. And its a tiny park. While he was still missing I was certain he had fallen off a hill and broke his legs, but when I heard him talk on tv I could tell he's a few fries short of a happy meal...

The guy is a perfect example of the kind of guy who doesn't belong outside

P.s. I have NEVER not had perfect cellphone coverage on my iPhone while in the park... You can literally "google earth" yourself out of there...
 
Something is very bogus about this whole story.

Either this guy is sooo dumb that gets lost in a place where he's a half hour walk from either a hiking trail or road, or he wasn't lost. There's more to this story than meets the eye. The only reason I say this, we had a friend that got into the same "fix".

Our friend Ç." went hunting in a small state park. Somehow, C got "lost for 4 days, in which the park rangers were looking for him, as well as some local volunteers. Finally, C got found, and played the roll of a lost hunter well.

It was only later, many years later, when being treated for depression and his drinking problem, he admitted he was not lost at all, but hiding out with a bottle. He was on a drunk out in the woods, and actually evaded the searchers. C eventually blew his brains out with a .45 because of his mental problems.

Sometimes it pays to not take things at face value. This so called lawman has another story to tell. Looking at where he was supposed to be lost on google earth, it's impossible to be lost there for 5 days. Maybe some day he'll admit he was hiding out to get away from the ol lady, or something else. Sorry, but having lived as long as I have, I'm a big sceptic.

Carl
 
Running from you searchers is a legitimate problem. People either are to embarrassed to want to be found by the searchers and keep moving to stay away from them or they think that they aren't lost so they don't need the searchers to find them. Often times the people who don't want to be found do have problems so you may be right Carl.

Chad
 
shappa said:
Looks like weather in tn was in the high 70's with a drop to the high 50's.

Mild weather but he should have been better prepared...he's a lawman for craps sake.
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Precisely my thoughts. I felt ungracious for thinking it, though.
 
I can't believe he used up all his shells "signaling." :eek: Plus, aren't off-duty police always supposed to be armed with a sidearm too? There are plenty of good LEOs, but there are some real dunces too. Just like any other profession. A crappy "truck-stop" pocket knife, lighter and compass and this would have been a night out at worst.

Plus, it IS good to Monday morning QB these type of events because it reminds us to put an extra lighter & knife in our hunting vests etc...

Be Prepared.
 
martensite said:
he could have followed a creek (dry or wet) down to wherever it was going. that helps reduce the chances of backtracking / walking in circles.
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I once ordered a psychological test on this dude and he turned out to have an IQ in the 60's which is mild mental retardation.
But he was an old country guy and one of the questions they asked him in the test was what he would do if he was lost in the woods and he said "find a creek and follow it"

Shows there's some skills even slow people outdo some smart folks on!
 
jackknife said:
Something is very bogus about this whole story.

Either this guy is sooo dumb that gets lost in a place where he's a half hour walk from either a hiking trail or road, or he wasn't lost. There's more to this story than meets the eye. The only reason I say this, we had a friend that got into the same "fix".

Our friend Ç." went hunting in a small state park. Somehow, C got "lost for 4 days, in which the park rangers were looking for him, as well as some local volunteers. Finally, C got found, and played the roll of a lost hunter well.

It was only later, many years later, when being treated for depression and his drinking problem, he admitted he was not lost at all, but hiding out with a bottle. He was on a drunk out in the woods, and actually evaded the searchers. C eventually blew his brains out with a .45 because of his mental problems.

Sometimes it pays to not take things at face value. This so called lawman has another story to tell. Looking at where he was supposed to be lost on google earth, it's impossible to be lost there for 5 days. Maybe some day he'll admit he was hiding out to get away from the ol lady, or something else. Sorry, but having lived as long as I have, I'm a big sceptic.

Carl
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Could be he was obese and didn't want to walk far. Big problem around here. Hunters don't want to get off their ATV's and people have MI's hauling deer out every year.

Several times on here we've talked about the benefit survival wise of being able to walk long distances. This could be a similar situation where that skill would have helped.
 
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