A hunting trip quickly turned into a rescue mission.
It’s not every day that a teenage boy gets to trek around in the forest and use the stealth of a predator to go on a hunting trip. 15-year-old Ryle was asked to go on a father-son hunting excursion with his stepdad, Chris Trumbich. But, what they thought was going to be a fun bonding time together instead turned into an adventure they will never forget.
The two men were about to wind up their day when they looked down in the dirt and saw a word scribbled in the mud. Upon taking a closer look, they realized it said,
H E L P
They were worried they were too late.
Already they were what they felt like was the middle of nowhere and far outside the town’s limits, but they knew whoever wrote it must have felt very scared and alone to desperately write such a plea. They were worried their attempt to help may be too late for whoever wrote the message.
Chris had to admit that at first he thought it might some be some communication between hunters perhaps needed help carrying a deer. But he realized that likely was not the case. Ryle, felt it was just plain creepy and immediately grabbed his smartphone to capture a picture for proof what they found.
A young woman in distress.
But, suddenly they remembered on the way to their hunting area they did pass a search and rescue team that was looking for a 19-year-old from a nearby town. The young woman had gone missing just two days before and they realized the plea for help was most likely from her.
Chris and Ryle immediately ran back to authorities as quick as the could and thankfully caught the rescue team just in time. The group was packing up their gear for the night but once Ryle showed the picture of the word “Help” written in the dirt, they knew they had to continue the search.
The team following Chris and Ryle back to the area where the message was written and began yelling out,
Hello . . . Hello . . .
A twist of fate.
They listened quietly and heard a faint response just over the ridge. The group quickly filed down the steep hill and found the young woman in a sleeping bag by a tree. They reported she was very frightened saying:
She looked very scared when she came out, like she was scared she was going to get in trouble, like we were going to yell at her for being in the cabin. Katie, if you are watching this, we’re just happy you’re alive.
In a strange twist of fate, even before they found her message in the dirt, Chris and Ryle actually helped save the young woman even before she went missing by leaving the door unlocked to the cabin. The sleeping bag she found came from inside. Chris reports he leaves the cabin unlocked in case lost hunters might need emergency shelter or food. He’s so happy that Katie was able to use the supplies.
Watch below to learn more about this unusual rescue.
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