No GPS, No Service, Handwritten Notes Help Rescue Stranded Mother and Son [WATCH]

A 49-year-old woman and her 9-year-old son were rescued in the Stanislaus National Forest on Saturday after getting stranded without cell service or GPS access, as reported by the New York Post.

Their rescue was made possible after members of a volunteer search team discovered handwritten notes the woman had left on the ground, weighed down by rocks, asking for help.

The incident occurred in the Sierra Nevada near Sonora, California. According to the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office, the pair had departed from the Sacramento area on Friday for an overnight camping trip at Camp Wolfeboro.

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At some point, they became lost in a remote area of the forest and were unable to find their way back to the main roads.

The following day, members of the Calaveras County Volunteer Team, who were in the area conducting a monthly training exercise, found two notes left by the mother.

Each note began with the word “HELP” in large letters and included Friday’s date to confirm they were recent. One note read, “Me and my son are stranded with no service and can’t call 911. We are ahead, up the road to the right. Please call 911 to get help for us. Thank you!”

Another note instructed rescuers to “follow the strips of brown sheet” and asked that their scout leader and family be contacted.

A mother and child stranded deep in the dense Stanislaus National Forest late last week left a trail of handwritten notes that helped their rescuers find them, officials in California announced this week. https://t.co/E9Qi1HUb1L

— JET/FOX/YourErie.com (@JET24FOX66) July 17, 2025

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Officials said the boy had blown his whistle repeatedly during the night, and the mother activated her vehicle’s hazard lights in an attempt to attract attention.

Once the notes were located, the search team assessed the area’s terrain and began a targeted search using four-wheel-drive vehicles and a specially equipped side-by-side utility terrain vehicle (UTV).

Approximately three hours into the effort, a Forest Service Law Enforcement Ranger received a text from campers who had seen a vehicle matching the description of the missing pair the previous day.

At around 6 p.m., the mother and son were found safe approximately a mile up the road. Due to limited communication options in the dense forest, the team was unable to call out using phones.

Instead, they used an amateur HAM radio, which was answered by a retired El Dorado County Communications Supervisor monitoring frequencies from his home. He relayed the information to the El Dorado 911 center, which then notified Calaveras County authorities.

Rescuers used vehicle recovery equipment to extract the family’s vehicle and escorted the pair back to safety. Both were reunited with family and did not require medical attention, officials said.

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