7 May 2009
Tweet to Save a Life
Posted by admin under: hiking .
Hiker Hell related the story of a Boy Scout who got separated from his group and lost for over a day. The story that Hiker Hell linked to says that Josh Fitzgerald’s sister jumped onto Twitter to bring attention to his situation… and it worked!
A missing 15-year-old hiker was found safe after he was lost in Escalante National Forest for more than 24 hours over the weekend. The boy, Josh Fitzgerald got separated from his group in the Coyote Gulch area Saturday morning and was found Sunday afternoon, having spent 32 hours without food, water and diabetes medication. Fitzgerald said he ate plants, jumped off cliffs, and eventually found two hikers that helped him.
He was armed with only a pocketknife, glowstick, and a headlamp, and he put his Boy Scout skills to work. After he found two hikers, he was eventually airlifted out of the area and taken to a hospital, where he was hydrated and given insulin. Josh’s sister used a Twitter account to spread the message of her brother’s disappearance and within hours, Josh received national attention. The Fitzgerald family recommends hikers to stay in their groups and to never get ahead and to always have one person carry a G.P.S. device.
Ask not for whom the Net tweets. It tweets for… well, in this case Josh Fitzgerald.
I hope someone reminds Master Fitzgerald of the old Cub Scout addage when lost: Hug a Tree! Stay put and wait for the rescuers to find you. I’m still trying to figure out that jumping off cliffs part. I don’t get it.
- Eagle Scout Does the Right Thing
- Hug a Tree or Hike 8 Miles
- Rattlesnake Survivability
- Don’t Be That Guy
- Scary Fall
2 Comments so far...
Two Outings Result in Two Boy Scout Deaths | BoyandGirlScouts.com - News, Opinion, Advice Says:
12 May 2009 at 9:49 am.
[...] There are two reports of deaths during Boy Scouts outings today. One is a 17 year old Boy Scout and one is a 56 year old leader. It’s shocking to see this happen back to back especially since we’ve been having good news with lost kids lately. [...]
The Power of Prayer & Twitter — Heidi Morton Says:
1 May 2011 at 4:02 am.
[...] This website also is talking about my brothers story. http://www.boyandgirlscouts.com/hiking/tweet-to-save-a-life/ [...]
