Message In A Bottle Leads Rescuers To Stranded Hikers Trapped On Top Of A Waterfall

Sep 17, 2019 by apost team

A message in a bottle, thrown over a waterfall in a last-ditch effort. That's something you only hear in adventure stories. Except, in this case, it really happened.

Curtis Whitson and his family were visiting Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park for Father's Day. They got stuck at the top of a waterfall and couldn't get down. They had no cellphone service. There were no people around to ask for help. Even the nearest campground was several miles away.

Fortunately, Curtis was able to think on his feet. He grabbed his empty water bottle and carved the word "HELP" on the outside. Then, he wrote a note outlining the situation and stuffed it into the bottle. He tossed the water bottle over the edge, with the lingering hope that someone would find it.

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Two hikers found it, fortunately. They put in a call for help.

According to NEWS8 WROC, rescuers brought out the California Highway Patrol Air Operations team. After a bit of a search, they found the lost hikers next to an SOS sign made from scavenged rocks. They airlifted the family out the morning after Curtis has thrown the water bottle over the edge.

The rescuers knew the dangers. There were few, if any places, they could have gotten out of there without the airlift. They had no options. The message in the water bottle definitely got them out of danger faster than it would have been to wait.

Now, if you are curious as to how they got trapped up there, it was actually due to Curtis. He had climbed up to that point a few years ago. He got down by rappelling with a rope along the side of the waterfall. No one thought to bring a rope this time.

Have you ever had to get creative in a sticky situation? Let us know in the comments - and make sure you pass this along to your friends and family!