Retracing the Final Steps of the Death Valley Germans
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- čas přidán 7. 09. 2024
- Welcome to Wonderhussy Adventure #284
Way back in July of 1996, a group of German tourists went missing in Death Valley National Park: a man, a woman and two small boys. Months later, their rented minivan was found stuck in a wash, waaaaaay down a remote side canyon -- but there was no trace of the people themselves. It took 13 years of searching before the mystery was finally solved -- this is an EXTREMELY remote and rugged part of Death Valley, and very difficult to access.
I found their story so haunting that I decided to go out there and see the place for myself. In this video, I retrace the final movements of the doomed tourists, from their campsite the night before they disappeared...all the way out to where their van was abandoned -- and beyond. You can see for yourself the kind of roads and terrain they were up against -- it's no joke.
This terrible, sad story is a chilling reminder of how dangerous backcountry travel can be...especially in Death Valley in the summertime. BE PREPARED!
Most of the information in this video came from this fascinating and thorough blog: www.otherhand.o...
Photos:
Interpol by JD210TX - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, commons.wikime...
Interpol pin by Jd210tx - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, commons.wikime...
China Lake aerial: Public Domain, commons.wikime...
China Lake jet: U.S. Navy photo by Cmdr. Ian C. Anderson [Public domain]
wonderhussy, wonder hussy, death valley, weird desert, weird mojave, death valley germans, cornelia meyer, nevada weird, strange nevada, egbert rimkus, national park disappearance, vanished national park, german tourists death valley, butte valley, anvil canyon
Note to tourists: Death Valley is not just a cute name, it is a very literal discription.
I was fascinated by this landmark. My family took a trip to Las Vegas about 8 years ago. We drove through Death Valley and spent the morning there. Then we took this mountainous route to Yosemite Park. Little did we know, it took us very long to pass the mountain. The road was very scary. It has been the best experience we had. We were very fortunate and thank God for protecting us during our trip. We were safe.
INDEED!! Or in other words:
They don't call it DEATH VALLEY for nothing!!.........................
I know!!! I almost bought the ticket, myself!................
I used to live in Vegas; Winter & early Spring is a nice time to go to Death Valley.
I was thinking the same thing. It wasn't named DEATH VALLEY for nothing
Like Nevada's Forty Mile Desert, it has claimed many lives.
My brother tried to talk a French tourist out of hiking into the grand canyon from the north rim in July. When he went anyway, he notified the first ranger he say which was many hours later. They found out later that he was found the next day and was still alive but out of water, had heat stroke and had to be carried to the nearest spot in the canyon that a Helicopter could land.
Sounds like me at Les Calanques in southern France ,out of water but we made it to a casino in town.
Bobby McGee in French sounds funny,got a cab ride back to the Kennedy. 1997 Med Cruise.
July!
😂 good luck 😂
Yeah, had a similar thing here in Las Vegas. I was on the strip, it was about 37C/97 that morning. 2 obvious Brits were walking out of the hotel, with no water, obviously no tan so VERY vulnerable to the reflected UV rays from the buildings, and it turns out no suncreen. The woman went down, fortunately I caught her so she didn't injure herself. Had ALCOHOL, not the 2L of water you should have, and ate way too much breakfast ("It was the buffet!"). Which the woman brought back up BTW.
Then of course "We had no idea it would be this hot at 9 in the morning!. You know who did? LOCALS in the casino...
Your brother saved that tourist's life by alerting the rangers! Bravo!😊❤
There was a family from the Bay Area that looked at the map and saw a “shortcut” over the mountains in Oregon in winter. The husband died trying to hike out after their car was stuck in the snow. He died of hypothermia but his wife and kids were found alive. Maps should have those “shortcuts” labeled as “extreme terrain”
I remember when that happened and watched a documentary on it recently. One small bad decision leads to another, and another. Like here. Tragic.
The James Kim family ordeal, it's very similar to this.
In extreme weather, unfamiliar 'shortcuts' can lead one into all sorts of trouble. Stick to the known and when in doubt, turn back / retrace .. there is no shame in that. That specific destination will still be there next ti e.
This family had no common sense. It happens.
No idea how we survived our young adult years.. we did so many things wrong yet were saved many times by dumb luck. Maybe one day the DL runs out, until then, try to learn from yours and other's mistakes, bc sh** happens.
Tom Mahood and Les Walker (and many others) from the Los Angeles county search and rescue found Cornelia's bones and diary (Les found it and radiod Tom saying "we have some bones here" but imagine LA is 6-7 hours away from DV ... that was a passionate mission and total dedication. I admire their courage! Heroes!!
I experienced the loneliness of Death Valley a year ago. Going from mammoth to vegas and we made the mistake of 168 from big pine(road sùcks). We got to the valley floor near the school and stopped for awhile. The sense of abandonment is real strong, can’t imagine trying to find your way out.
Desolate
I drove 95 miles from Ridgecrest to DV National Park’s entrance, on my own. The road was terrible, no phone service anywhere, and nearly no other cars. Never felt as worried that something would happen to one of the wheels and I’ll just never make it.
168?? LOL That's actually a nice road, compared to Death Valley Roads.
(that's North of Death Valley) I have taken 168 several times.
That's nothing, compared to the HELL in D V........
Careful.......
My wife died of heat stroke in the Grand Canyon last summer. She was a fit experienced hiker who was well prepared and had hiked the route before when she was in college. However, this time she was with two kids and this was August. A few mistakes, a bit of unforcast weather, and poorly marked trail intersection led to a tragedy. Thankfully, the kids were found safe and picked up by a campground employee. Most people (especially foreign tourists) have no idea how quickly Mother Nature can and will kill you.
I’m so sorry, my condolences 😔❤️
Very sorry, I think I read about her. The national parks need to do a better job warning and protecting people. People are so often not aware of the dangers of hyper or hypothermia.
So sad….condolences to you.
I'm sorry to hear, GC is an extreme place, hiked there many times
I've backpacked in the Grand Canyon in March and April; no way would I be hiking down in the canyon in August heat.
I can just hear the passengers saying "turn around, this is crazy" and the driver saying "no, it'll be okay..." I am always haunted by stories of people that get fatally lost.
I very nearly had that as recently as December 2021 in the UK. We were checking out a local point of interest someone had told us about and we'd never been to, the main road to the car park was potholed and felt like the Moon. it was also very muddy and basically sludge because of cold weather, the potholes were also now puddles. You couldn't go quicker than 10mph and I only have a regular FWD car with regular suspension, so it was actually painful. I suggested we turned back except we actually turned a corner and reached our destination right then.
Was absolutely paranoid that one false move and we would be stuck, also on the way back out as well. Dead suspension, flat tyre, or even just bogged down in mud like the Germans' minivan was with sand. We were only half a mile from a main road and the weather was fine, but not a place you want to break down. The car ended up filthy and had to be washed in full the following day.
However it was a nice place and we joked that we'd bring the Range Rover next time (none of us have one).
More like “How much longer?”
This perfectly illustrates the difference between the U.S. and Europe. In the U.S 200 years is a long time while in Europe two hundred miles is a long distance.
Ummm “years” = “miles”?
@@DILESHAW No! It's a simple and humorous way of illustrating the difference between the two. Europe has more history while the U.S. has more territory than every country in Europe aside from Russia.
@@DILESHAW Read it again and think.
@Tamer 1 Well said!
@@KelAZ1 TY!
Never underestimate jungle, mountain, sea or.....desert. Most of us europeans learn this as kids. Sad story, but beautifully filmed. Thank you and respect from the Netherlands.
Thank you for making my life interesting again. I am 96 years old, and I watch your videos over and over again. For me, there is very little else, and nothing to compare to you.
I read Tom's blog one evening several years ago. He sent me a very nice reply after I messaged him blaming him for taking up half my night! But you're right, it's an absolutely fascinating read.
Thanks to his blog, my entire Sunday was shot to hell.
That's such a sad story. I lived in Germany for 2 years and know that those people don't have the same concepts of space that we Americans do, especially when looking at maps. In Germany when you see a map with two towns they aren't far apart at all, and often you can just go around a small hill and there it is....and that is their mind set when they look at one of our maps. I've camped in Death Valley, and in the Panamint Valley, area numerous times, but I never went in the summer.
This, from a 1909 desert handbook:
The traveler who is unacquainted with the route over which he is
journeying should stop at places where the ground has been cleared
of brush and where there is other ample evidence of the presence
of many visitors, and satisfy himself as to the nature of the camp.
It may be a " dry camp," such as are made on long stretches between
springs, or there may be a spring or well in the vicinity, which is
covered over to keep out animals, and is hidden by drifting sand.
Experienced men will have no difficulty in quickly determining the
nature of the camp. An inexperienced traveler should not enter
the desert alone. If he can not find an experienced companion, he
should proceed with the greatest caution, gathering all possible
information about his route in advance, keeping himself abundantly
supplied with water and food, and never leaving one water station
without a definite idea as to the location of the next
@@RRaucina ...Good advice even today, but they forgot to mention not to camp in a dry wash and make sure you have enough beer for your trip as there's no liquor stores out in the desert.
@@RRaucina : Amen to common sense, but it seems like it's been lacking ever since 1909. Wonderhussy would make a great desert guide, it would be a good way to make extra cash for traveling out of her comfort zone.
I'm from the UK and visited the US for the very first time in 2002.
Firstly, we weren't prepared for the heat. We were in Florida in July (were visiting various parts of the US and were yet to move on) and at that time there was a heatwave so bad that even the locals couldn't handle it and there was a public health warning issued.
Secondly, we weren't prepared for the distances involved and the scale of everything. Florida alone is the size of my entire country but there is barely any difference in the landscapes. You can drive hundreds of miles in a straight line and nothing changes. To my family in Virginia, a "short drive and just up the road" was again 90 miles in a straight line.
And in my experience Germany isn't that much different to here in many respects. It's very easy to understand that these Germans sadly just didn't understand or appreciate what they were getting in to.
😊k
I went on a roadtrip to Death Valley via Vegas with my sister in late June. 2016. We had the luxury of being in a brand new big BMW, and the outside temperature was as high as 122 degrees. Stayed in Furnace Creek, drove up to Stovepipe wells. It was so hot that if you put your hand out the window at speed, it was on the verge of actually burning it. The day we left we went down to Badwater early in the morning and had it pretty much to ourselves. I remember saying jokingly to my sister, hey... see that little bluff over there? lets pull over and take a hike to it... Laughing, we both said yea "we'd be dead", the place absolutely gives you zero concept of distance or scale. Thats the main thing that struck me most about the place, you cannot judge distance or terrain from the main road. Great video, thanks for this!
Oh yeah. When I was hiking in the dunes there, I realized they were so much bigger and more spreadout up close than you thought they were if you just looked from the road.
the place absolutely gives you zero concept of distance or scale.....this line summarises everything..
As a socal resident we love riding DV on our dual sport motorcycles almost every year. January to March is about the best time to go. In the early 2000's the visitors center was still giving the "German Talk" whereby they pulled aside the German tourists and addressed them specifically about the dangers of coming to Death Valley to challenge themselves or going off unprepared. We had simply lost to many German visitors. Eventually they got the message and the talk was no longer necessary.
Germans are used to a country where you hardly can walk two miles without a sign of civilization and also they're used to living life with lots of safety nets. Getting insured is a national sport.
So it's really fitting to have Germans stick out among those getting lost.
I visited Death Valley last year in July. I thought it would be cool to say I went to Death Valley in July. The heat is no joke. It was 118 degrees (47.7 C) and the heat is like a furnace. Just blistering heat, enough to get out of the car, take the picture, get back in. We were also driving around for about 3 hours and that place is so VAST. Just land, land, land. And you don't see a lot of people. Maybe in winter or cooler times but in July, Death Valley - a hot, vast land of nothingness.
Even in mid-winter, after sunset you don't see many people on Death Valley's roads, except a few on Highway 190 between Furnace Creek and Stovepipe Wells. By 8:00pm, almost all Park visitors are back in camp or in their hotel rooms, and you might not see another vehicle on the road until 7:00am the next morning. I've been on at least 16 trips to Death Valley since 1982, but all were between November and February. In mid-summer, it's just too risky. Having a breakdown even on the paved roads could put you in life-threatening danger.
This is such a terribly sad story. My heart goes out to their loved ones. May these four souls rest in peace.
yes same here. I felt so very very sad. I hope they Rest In Peace. What a tragic story.
We Europeans cannot imagine anything as awesome as this terrain, to attempt it without local knowledge is suicidal, excellent documentary
Well to be fair, in Europe it is much less likely that you'll ever wander into such an isolated and hostile environment.
@@baruchben-david4196 except high up in the mountains,... right?
@edwardschlosser1 you are so right! too bad egbert didnt ascertain any info like this before he decided to make such a crazy move driving into death valley with no preparation, with those little kids. he must have just thought 'we will take a drive through death valley look around, take some pics, then head over to yosemite' (through mengle pass no leass) just crazy
@@baruchben-david4196 correct, thats why you check it out beforehand and not just head in to DV with no idea what youre heading into (in JULY!!!!)
Much more than a pile of sand.
Europeans seem to forget how vast and empty large parts of USA is.
*are
I had some acquaintances from the UK who house sat for me in Seattle back in the early 1990s and then rented a car and took the ferry to Alaska and thought they would drive back to Seattle in a couple days, in October. It took nearly a week and they almost didn’t make it even then. :(
as do americans in europe, alpine regions.
@ICEY it's a beautiful park if you know how to truly do things. How to prepare for it, what supplies, etc, as you mentioned. Truly breathtaking. Couple of friends & myself go up to Death Valley almost every year, & just like all our national parks in the U.s. this one is just as beautiful. Nothing to be afraid of when you've taken proper precautions. I.e., supplies, plenty of sunscreen & protective clothing, let people know where you're going & when you expect to return, weapons, etc. I recommend it.
@pordini For this vast and untraveled region, a specialized government topographic map or map book should have been obtained. And guide books are notoriously incorrect and outdated. Such guidebooks have been killing people in America since the 1840's.
Happens here in Australia on a regular basis. People just not prepared for the conditions. Getting stuck, going walkabout in severe heat you name it, people do it.
I can't understand why they didn't go back to the cabin. Insane decision.
Dreadfully sad, the adults made massively naive errors of judgement and their poor kids lost their lives as a result
8:34 And it's a German couple we're also shoplifters as they pocketed the US flag that was in that cabin, as a they could show their friends, at home, " look what we swiped from our trip to America's death valley!"
I was a LVMPD Search and rescue officer for 15 years. I was always amazed at how many inexperienced people would set off on hikes or vehicle trips into the most hostile environments on the planet while totally unprepared for unexpected events, weather or emergencies. I have been involved in numerous body recovery missions and searches that failed to locate the missing victim. I was involved in an winter operation at Mt. Charleston at high elevations where temps were below freezing with blowing snow to a point where we were unable to utilize our helicopter assets. While up on the mountain, we received another call out related to a climber incident at Red Rock Canyon and our sergeant divided our personnel and sent my team from the mountain to Red Rock. Since we were in such cold and adverse conditions, we were all dressed in long underwear, fleece, and parkas. Upon arrival at Red Rock, I estimate that the temperature there was about 80 degrees. I recall being totally soaked with perspiration by the time the climber was rescued and evacuated. I’ve had many other similar experiences with varied and adverse climate issues in southern Nevada. It got to the point where I was eligible to retire and since I didn’t want to suffer through another summer in Las Vegas, we sold our home and relocated to an island off the coast of Washington. I never want to return to Las Vegas even for a visit.
I live in most humid place in US pretty much year round- Key Wesl,Fl , so I totaly understand you. It is not as bad heat in shade but on the sun it is, and the humid air make it pretty miserable for good 9 months
Thank you for your service as Search and Rescue.
Ran across this story by accident. Just another reminder that life is precious. Thanks.
And common sense essential to preserve it.
decidedly
Two things I always remember when heading out. Ernest Shackleton once said to his wife after failing to reach the South Pole “Better a live Donkey, than a dead Lion.” The other is an ailment called “Gethomeitous”, becoming so overly focused on getting home that you ignore deteriorating conditions. Aircraft Accident reports have many such cases.
"It's better to be a live dog than a dead lion" is from the book of Proverbs.
I think it's called GetThereitis in aviation ...
When I'm in the remote areas of Death Valley the one thing I keep in mind is it would be probably impossible for me to carry enough water to survive a 5 day hike in 120 F heat.
People have died walking on the paved roads after their cars broke down.
I was under the impression that the paved roads in the valley were shutdown because the asphalt gets to soft and traffic causes damage. Of course I avoid DV like the plague in July.
I'm thinking of doing a trip from Titus Canyon to Cerra Gorda, via Lippincott Pass,in a month or so.
You would be lucky to last five hours even with all the water you could carry. In Australia we call that sort of country the never never, never never go there because you will never return.
@@thefacelessmen2101 I have to assume the author of this comment meant either 5 hours or 5 miles. (And even those are stretches of the imagination.) 5 days makes zero sense. In 120F, one sits in the shade and prays.
@MysteryFan Im glad I live in the UK sometimes
@Padraig mallon It of course depends on the individual the problem is that once the temperature is above body temperature the only way your body can cool itself is through evaporation so it gets very dicey very quickly. Tourists die every year in Australia from the heat even with water it washes the salts out of you in no time, and its more often than not young fit people who thought they could handle it. I don't think those Germans ever realized the peril they were in they locked the car when they left it.
I think Tom wrote that he went back several times looking for the Childrens remains only to find out that the sheriff department most likely had already found the children s bones but didn’t tell anyone or him. When he later called them to find out where they didn’t return the call.
Coyotes never eat they're kill at the site, they always take it back to they're den, when coyotes killed my dog I had to track them for several miles to a mountain side and they act as a team each member taking turns carrying my dog but for me it was to no avail since the pack became inherently aggressive and drove me off but that's where you'd find the remains of the children in a coyotes den somewhere in vastness of Death Valley
what a sad story. I am German, in the US now for almost 30 years, but I could totally see myself trying something like this in a rental way back when. We have no deserts and no 120 degree heat, and before the internet all there was in info is documentaries to some degree and adventure movies and TV shows.
What a horrible way to die with the two kids in tow, hard to even try to imagine.
Death Valley is like a piece of Mars that landed on earth and it's hard to really imagine how dangerous it is if you just heard and read about it (and it's cool name).
May they rest in peace.
Many years ago we'd host German exchange students and would take them to go camping in the desert. We wouldn't even be out at the hottest times of the year but they would still step out into 108 degree weather and just be shocked as if we had taken them to visit the gates of hell itself, and then their jaws dropped when we said it gets even hotter than that. Driving through the desert they were just amazed that places like that even exist, a place as beautiful as it is deadly.
As a German, I can say that one underestimates the distances and the time required.
It's all factor 10 compared to Europe as a whole continent.
Maybe not mathematically correct, but that's what it feels like to be traveling in the USA.
As a nurse I am POSITIVE the children died LONG before the adults did. Children and the elderly and infirm are more susceptible and at risk to heat stroke and exhaustion. It's a physical fact. The children went into heat stroke and shock and death first, the parents had already buried them in shallow sandy graves and probably covered them with rocks before they went on alone. I cannot imagine the grief of those parents.
All takes is one death to induce panic. Then hyperventilation happens. In 120 degree heat... that's a death sprial.
Edgar was positively identified and the other set of bones were too depleted to be able to get a positive identity but were of a adult female. You had those 2 mixed up and as a medical professional , I can assure you that unfortunately, Edgar and Connie had to see their child succumb to the elements hours and hours before they would have. Children are way smaller and not nearly as able to obtain enough water before their deaths. That's what saddens me. They only had the alcohol with them and because the beer bottles and wine bottle was found, we know they were drinking that instead of water which as I said, is a very fatal mistake in that kind of heat because although they may thought it was better to drink that than nothing, they were actually speeding up their demise because alcohol sucks and pushes more water out of the body. The children's bones have never been found. The Geologist cabin also was not abandoned and empty. It was stocked with plenty of food and water. It boggles my mind why they never touched the water. It's all very sad.
Most likely scavengers, i.e. coyotes and possibly vultures dismembered the children.
I'm glad your not out there alone. My oldest daughter goes to places alone like this and I fear something will happen to her. She's in great condition with a jeep with big run flat tires and she's armed but still.
I’d be afraid Too
Camping in the Canadian Rockies in 1980s, I watched German touristss chase a bear who had grabbed a tourist's food bag from a picnic table. The campers watched in horror, shouting "nein,nein" which they ignored. The Germans triumphantly returned with the bag and gave it to its rightful owner, the bear hot on his heels. They tried to intimidate the bear and it ended up up a tree eventually having to be tranquilized.
1995 I rode my Harley through death valley and broke down. God bless the trucker who picked me up AND put my bike in his rig. My bike never had an issue other than that one ride.
Amazing story . The fact that the van wasn't discovered until months later , and then only by accident , is ample testament to the remoteness of this area . Thanks for taking Larry with . I know you're tough , but we worry less when he's along .................
Sarah, this is by far the BEST CZcams video you have done. Very cleverly intriguing and captivating. Your knowledge of history and the area around you are second to none, and your ability to edit videos put lots of Hollywood film makers to shame. Keep up the great work.
too melodramatic for me... sounds like she is auditioning for a job with Dateline
Wonderhussy,
I want to congratulate you on a VERY WELL-DONE wrap-up of the known information on these poor souls. Having read the lengthy (and fascinating) Searcher's article you mentioned, and having been at each of the places you have shown, it seems incredible the Germans did not return to the Geologist's Cabin. You have done an admirable job of RESPECTFULLY telling the parts of this true Desert Mystery. Please keep up the great work!
Ya if they had flashlights they could have hiked at night. But with scared kids they probably panic'd.
December of 2014 two of us spent the night at Geologist Cabin and hiked the following day to the little bluff on the far side of the valley where the remains were found. Sobering experience but highlighted the fact that being prepared and traveling at the right time of year makes all the difference. Very well done video. :-)
I was involved professionally in SAR in the Sierras for over 25 years. Your analysis was well done. In most of these cases it is a number of mistakes made that roll into a situation where people lose their lives, not just one giant blunder.
If you are able to find a Copy of "Death Valley in '49" by William Manly you will see the pattern started long ago. Manly was part of the group that actually named the place. I have a hard bound first edition copy of the book. It is one heck of a read. I highly recommend it.
Manly's book is an amazing read. We hiked what may have been the route taken by him through the Panamints and really get the possibility of situations going badly very quickly.
Very interesting report. I like this style. I used to live in Tucson and it would get up to around 120° in the summer. It wasn't uncommon in the paper to see elderly folks who just went on a day hike and died within 36 hours after getting lost. You're right, the desert is not joking.
Sarah this documentary was amazing, captivating, intriguing and the best one you have produced to date. I love your videos of your adventures, thank you for shearing. This tragic story equals why the name is Death Valley. 👣
Hello Kari🙌
I had to walk about ten miles in around 90's degree heat off a mountain once after my ride decided to break it's timing belt. You guys in the military that makes that look easy has my ultimate respect.
It’s because we hydrate non stop and do lots of Pt which helps with not becoming a heat casualty. Men go straight into heat stroke while women have heat illness which isn’t as bad as heat stroke because you don’t need to be iced down within 30mins to bring your core temperature down from 104-106. I think the girlfriend was the last parent to be alive and the she with the kids tried to bury the father. She was already affected by heat exhaustion and probably told the children to keep going in the general direction to get help from the military. The youngest child was probably carried by the father and both parents gave the kids most of the water and food. All I know is that anytime we had a mission in the Middle East or south east Asia (OIF-Iraq/ OEF Afghanistan) I wouldn’t take supplements the night before when going to the gym cause caffeine is what cause many non combative deaths. South east Asia (OEF) sucked. You had 120-130 heat with 100% humidity from the huge river flowing from Pakistan. Then your wearing vest with 4 plates, 6 magazines, rifle with a magazine, ruck sack with 50 to 80lbs of gear ect. So total extra weight can range from 90 up to 120lbs+. Factor in wearing your Kevlar/ACH/fast helmet (helmet issued or bought) not letting the heat from your body escape cause the helmet is holding it all in. That increases the temperature up to 10 degrees extra. Then add getting into a firefight on a damn mountain that can last an hour to a few days. Running up hill with all that crap and trying to remember to stay hydrated and check on your buddies to make sure they’re fine and not slowly getting EHS. Once you become a heat casualty. For the rest of your life you’ll be much more susceptible to getting it quickly. Anyways, back to the story. That’s my opinion with the information I’ve read and putting myself in their situation and how they would think tourist locations would be drivable paved roads because they would think naturally America’s road maps wouldn’t list unpaved roads on a map without saying so in the legend. So the children probably went in the direction they were headed until the heat or coyotes got to them. The bones found were confirmed to be the father but the mother’s bones couldn’t get dna sample because the bones were to dry. So that’s what makes me think he was buried and she went on with the kids until her EHI hit critical and she no longer could go on.
I feel so sad for those kids, and the family back home, very well told.
I read the blog before watching your video, this event is so sad, and imaging what they must have went through with small children is just terrifying.
Feel sorry for the kids, how terrifying it must have been.
It's so sad about the kids I can't think about it.
Terrifying for any age
@@methatlovescats3602 thats true also, but I look at my lil guy and to feel that you cant do anything is upsetting
never take kids to such destination. just don't!
Me too, horrible
The interior of Outback Australia can be just as bad. Just as hot and many times just plain inhospitable.
far fewer mountains and canyons though
I'd say even MORE inhospitable.
Strangely, there such places in what can be arguably called the fringes European...
I grew up in the valleys of Khardagia (Ukraine), a labyrinth of strange colored rock-forms, whose valleys are divided by impassible shifting salt crevasses... it was a strange place, and a hard climate, often freezing at dawn, but with temperatures 115°F
-120°F in the second half of the day... in a straight line, the village (K'r-Pyr) was around 20miles, but it took between 25 and 30 hours to reach it (using a trail that often took the shape of a 7inch ledge into the canyon-side cliff)... the nearest water, between May and the first rains in august, was a spring straight up the ridge at around 5000ft MSL (we were at around 200ft above sea level). this is not to mention the semi-regular rapid moving grass-fires and pockets of hot-springs lurking just beneath the baked surface of the canyon floor.
anyway, my dad worked in one of the "Bio-stations", a group of 3-5 researchers being dropped off at a dug-in earth cabin for a period of 3 months to monitor the regions biosphere. me, my cousin, and at times one or two other kids from the institute would be taken along with the group... once the USSR(iron-curtain) collapsed, you would occasionally have German, Czech even British hikers coming through... one had to wonder how these guys didn't die, they were nearly always too heavily ladened with things that were unnecessary, yet, not even remotely prepared for that particular species of terrain... once we had a BBC group trying to use a packhorse on the trail only to find out the thin salt crust that covered most of the hot quicksand filled valleys could not support the weight of highland pony on the area provided by its hoof.
Outback is a lot like US desert minus the mountains and canyons.
@@stanislavkostarnov2157 That is so interesting!
Sad story. A friend from the UK recently stated that America is not that big and scary as people make it out to be. Areas like this are vastly unexplored and rugged. Europeans who have never set foot in these deserts have no clue what to expect. Taking a van here is insane.
Death Valley is actually well explored by the Indiginous Peoples of that area, & then the minors of the late 1800's & early 1900's. There's many old cabins there.
I've read this story, that guy put a lot of effort into finding them. It is a stark reminder about the dangers of desert travel. Very well done, thx for sharing.
Beautiful job Sarah. I remember when they disappeared - a tragic outcome which was preventable. It seems some European tourists don’t understand or choose to ignore the many posted warnings about Death Valley back roads. Once on a Titus Canyon drive with my husband, in a Jeep Wrangler, a German man came barreling up behind us in a rented basic sedan as we stopped for photos. He jokingly said, ‘if you get into trouble on the road ahead, don’t worry, I’ll be right behind you.’ He took it as a badge of courage I guess to take a bare bones rental car on that road. Very poor judgment. I loved this video...great work. Thank you.
@Bob Loblaw I recall back in the 90's my brother and I had climbed Mt. Whitney and stopped at the visitor center outside of Lone Pine. A family of French folks (at least 6) we asking the ranger for directions down Highway 136 towards Furnace Creek (100+ miles). They were in a beat up van and told the ranger they had about a gallon of water. The ranger initially told them to go into Lone Pine and get a lot more water. Then he saw what they were driving and advised them to not go at all. We saw them turning east on 136 towards Furnace Creek. Go figure...
@@lowellsandell427 : I think I agree with you and RC Doodles. This story doesn't make sense if you don't include the desire for an off-road adventure. These folks were already in Furnace Creek. They had limited time to get to Yosemite. By far, the quickest and easiest way to get to Yosemite is on route 190 that goes past Stovepipe Wells and over to Lone Pine. There would be no reason to head south and try to cut across the mountains on dirt roads. I can't imagine why they camped out in Death Valley instead of leaving and finding a cheap motel over on US 395 that takes you north to Yosemite. I read the blog posts written by Tom Mahood (the guy who finally found the bodies). He goes out of his way to not call these folks dumb, but I just can't see it that way. I have done the same trip that these people did (flew into Vegas, rented a car, drove to Death Valley and up to Yosemite) and it definitely never crossed my mind to go off road in my rental car.
@@lowellsandell427 you'd have thought, being from France and all, that after hearing the words of the ranger, that they'd just surrender and go back from wherest they came...or quickly whipped up some Bearnaise sauce or something.
Just recently, french tourists did the same type of thing at the White Sands of New Mexico. I believe their young son made it out alive and parents died. I've been out there, and if you don't know the area - you can get lost easily. The sands just start to look like an ocean. The Southwest can be unforgiving. Me and a friend got lost for hours at Canyonlands in Utah...luckily I knew the area a little...and we were out before the night came. close call! Becareful out there.
Good Lord these places sound terrifying-! My idea of fun adventure is getting a bus into the nearby countryside to visit a lovely old Pub, with maybe a wee walk to another nearby lovely old Pub or 2; if there isn't a bus-stop /train-line nearby, I panic!
The kids died first and then the parents buried them. Kids can't handle heat as well as adults. They would have been the first to go no matter how much water they were given.
I think you are correct assuming the children died first. However, burring them with their bare hands would be difficult if not impossible, especially in their weakened state. They didn't talk about the circumstances of the remains, but likely they were scattered by the coyotes. The children being smaller were completely removed.
Im also certain the adults buried them. They probably put them in a cave or used rocks or brush. The adults were to weak to dig. So I’m sure the makeshift graves were plundered by coyotes. Bones will probably never be found of the kids.
Very nice documentary. Our 4Wheel drive club participated back in 1996. It’s nice to have closure. Thank you
Thank you for sharing this . . . I could not stop from being saddened towards the end of this journey . . . So heartbreaking . . . You stay safe my dear . . .
A few things to keep in mind, first of all is when this took place, 1996. The next is how variable the roads up there can be.
In years past (particularly prior to 1995) some of the roads up there were well maintained by local mining operations. This means that at times these roads have been very passable by 2 WD vehicles, for example I took a Datsun sedan from Ballerat to DV via this route in the late 1980’s, with no flat tires or damage to the vehicle, earlier yet the Manson family got a full sized school bus up to Barker Ranch. Other times, sometimes variable season to season, or when the last rain storm was, even high clearance 4x4 vehicles have problems.
In 1996 the Anvil Springs road had been closed for about 2 years, in 1994 that route was closed when the Death Valley monument expanded its area, and as part of the California Desert Protection Act of 1994. Prior to that time Anvil Springs road was used somewhat regularly, and even had sections in very good shape, particularly each end of that route was a fair dirt road. The point is, it is very possible they (the Germans) got on the Anvil Springs road in 1996 and it was in good shape at that point. As they drove along it would have degraded.
The take away here is that Death Valley (and many other remote areas) can kill you just as dead as it did explorers a hundred+ years ago. Many people today have a sense that we are “safe”, technology has removed us from most of the dangers of centuries past. Mother nature still thinks you, an insignificant human, are no more important to the natural world than a blade of grass, and will snuff you out just as quickly as it would any other animal or plant, without the slightest hesitation or consideration of your status as a “human”. You are only as safe as you make yourself.
FirstToken thank you for your comment. For some reason people seem to think they can go into these Wilderness areas and it doesn't matter what they take with them they will survive. Nature doesn't care Who We Are. Nature doesn't care that we are human, that we have a brain, it doesn't even know we exist. To it we are no greater or smaller than the most significant elephant or the insignificant ant. We have watched people do really stupid things, we have listened to our friends say I'm going to go do this and we'll look at them and ask if your rig breaks down you're going to have to walk that hundred miles out do you think you can do that? People don't think about what they're doing before they go do it. They just get excited about an adventure or they're loners and they want to do it alone. In today's environment with the problems of meth labs drug cartels human trafficking across our borders especially in the southwest, basically across the borders anywhere in the US. It isn't smart to go anywhere alone, it's better to go with friends in a group and start practicing small, build up to something exciting but know what you're doing. Experience keeps one from having a panic attack when you're in a bad situation & making bad decisions when it isn't quite so bad but you're not sure where you should turn.
FirstToken, Excellent comment and very informative. Thank you.
So true here in Australia we know the very real danger heat and waterless traveling can be , I have had close calls in the bush many times , all ways take more water than you need , more food , more petrol , and let others know your ETA !!
I wish they would add your comments to all the CZcams videos on the German couple. They all make such a big deal of how hard it would be to get a minivan up there. I drove a 85 Toyota minivan through some of those miner trails back in the early 90s. It wasn't that hard.
I had the same experience. It astonishes me the road was allowed to deteriorate so much over a decade. In spring 1984 I moved to Las Vegas along with my 1980 Datsun 210. I began exploring all over the place. A year later I realized I was not far from Death Valley, where I had a miserable summer experience as a kid. Now with my own car I decided to explore in November 1985, and specifically the site where the Manson family lived. Yes it was bumpy and slow but I made it no problem. It wouldn't be among my top 5 most difficult drives I made with that car. In fact, I had more trouble with the big Baker Hill on I-15, always needing to pull over into the truck lane and turn on heat full blast to avoid overheating. In looking at the photos it appears the Germans' fatal mistake was turning off into soft sand. I was always wary of that based on advice from my father.
I can only imagine the agony of the parents in Germany not knowing for years what had happened to their children. It must have been awful wondering why they never came back.
???
Just one correction to the story. The remains found were of an adult male and female. However only the male could be identified but not the female because the bones were too dried out. So my theory is the father got EHS from probably carrying the youngest child. The mother was suffering from EHI which is why she was found little ways down from the boyfriend. She hit the critical phase of heat illness and probably told the children to keep going in that direction for help. I think she and the kids covered the father partially that’s why his bones weren’t all dried out. She was probably resting out in the open and that’s why they couldn’t identify if it was her remains or not. I agree that most likely coyotes hunted the children or found them just barely alive and yeah. Sad story but hopefully this spreads awareness about heat illness and heat stroke. Anyone planning on going out exploring in the middle of no where should get a locator beacon because it’s much more reliable than a satellite phone. The locator beacon will show your exact location and search and rescue will go to the exact location of the beacon when pressed. The best thing to do is sit tight and wait. Anyways, you both look like locals from Hawaii, lol. Especially when you pronounced the name correctly and larry showing the 🤙 lol. Well, good videos and can’t wait till the next one.
I think the children died first, children are more susceptible to heat stroke, and the childrens remains could be anywhere
In that harsh condition, children will the the first to go, not the parents.
If you're going to write fiction using a family's tragic story, at least have the decency to be accurate.
No matter where you are, IT'S A JUNGLE OUT THERE.
Unforgivable to me. i can get wanting to risk your own life as an adult.... but not risk 2 young kids lives too. Sure, im betting they were totally overwhelmed by the size once they got to the area and totally underestimated what they were getting into before they left for the trip. I'm from Australia and even i don't fully comprehend just how big it is here, i was shocked to find out that my small state of Victoria is just slightly smaller than the entire island of Britain. America is just as vast as Australia with really hot places like here and if you're not fully prepared in every way.... you die. Especially back in the 80's before the internet and Google maps, etc, but i just think it's a shame to lose 4 lives including 4 young lives when they just coulda turned back to the cabin and they'd all still be alive today. Sometimes it's just not worth it, just not worth risking losing your lives over losing some money or plane tickets. Very sad story.
Way late, but that's the worst part. Two little kids were lost from negligence.
And like you said, they could've hiked back to that cabin which has a running spring. Would've eventually been found there.
Hard to imagine trying to off road in a mini van. Mom and I drove thru in the summer years ago and it was hellishly hot. Death Valley is aptly named.
Very nice job on this. Can't imagine who would give it thumbs down. A lot of Europeans, especially Germans, are fascinated with the American west. It's been so many hundreds of years since there was any kind of unexplored frontier in Europe, and this country being relatively new in comparison, I can imagine how excited they were to see what would have been a vast wilderness to them. They probably had less than no idea how far they could get from civilization and how rough the terrain could be.
My understanding is that Death Valley is among the top destinations for European tourists. In fact, I ran into a couple of nice Dutch girls there and we toured around a bit. However, I notice that many of these people are not "kitted out" properly with proper clothing, hats, water, boots, backpack, etc. You don't need to get too far off the beaten track in DV to get in trouble. A fact that this German couple learned to their ultimate chagrin.
@@ericthered760 Exactly, I dont live too far from Zion National Park and the last time I was hiking in Zion, I saw a lot of European Tourists that were dressed like they were at the beach, example I walked past some tourists that were speaking French and the guys were dressed a little indecent, Speedos, Tank tops, and sandals, not appropriate for the great American West.
Sarah has a few annoying people who like to harass and stalk her on youtube.. Something wierd about them, like they have a problem with how she makes her money(modeling). Judgemental twerps. Those are the ones downvoting, probably. Just fyi.
Exactly. I visited Death Valley from Germany in 1996 as a tourist from Germany(living in California since 2000). Your description fits perfectly. I got overwhelmed from heat, but didn’t drive on these roads. Sounds like the guidebook they bought was shit, suggesting passable roads that should clearly have been labeled at high clearance 4wd and roads that didn’t even exist. Crazy
right, from the many german cowboy movies they might think its easy, everyone speaks german too there lol
This is some of your best work, I completely enjoyed this, actually watched it a second time with my family. A facanating story, very well done.
I camped for a week at the top of Hanaupah Canyon Road in December 1982. There's a place up at the top of the alluvial fan where the road descends into a wash, then continues up into the narrows of the canyon for another mile or so. There was a relatively flat spot just before the road drops into the wash, and that's where I camped. I was in a 2WD Datsun pickup, and I still thank whatever gods there might be that I wasn't stupid enough to try driving down into the wash. Because over the 7 days I camped there, I saw 6 or 7 vehicles pass my campsite, go down into the wash, and the only one that made it back up without having to be winched out was a Jeep CJ with high flotation tires and a 4:1 transfer case. The other vehicles that got trapped on that road, trying to climb back up out of the wash on the loose gravel, were a three Ford and Chevy pickup trucks, a Chevy Suburban, and a Toyota pickup. All of them were 4WD, but they couldn't get traction on that slope, because the gravel was too loose. The Jeep that did make it to the top had a winch and after pulling up the lightest and smallest of the stuck vehicles, the Toyota, working together, they were then able to pull the heavier pickups and the Suburban up. Watching this taught me a lesson about travelling in Death Valley that I've never forgotten: even with 4WD and all-terrain tires, there can be deep loose sand and gravel almost anywhere that can trap you.
I've always wondered what route the Germans walked between where they abandoned the van, and where their remains were found. Since no trace of the two kids was ever found, I've wondered if they collapsed somewhere short of where the adult remains were found, or maybe they found an abandoned mine adit or cave that offered some shelter, and the kids were told to wait there. But it's been 27 years, and probably all that's left of those kids that hasn't turned to dust, is their shoes, or eyeglasses if the older kid happened to be wearing glasses.
I can’t watch this, but I still gave it a thumbs up. Those poor little kids. 😢
This is so damn sad. I can't imagine the fear of both parents as they watched their children suffer. The Desert is a dangerous place and not to be tested!
Love your screen name. LOL.
sad story !
Thank to all volunteers who
invested their time and money in searching for them.
Regards from Japan,
another German
(JR2FJI - KJ6ARR).
They don't call it Death Valley for nothing.
So I live near here and SAR gets multiple calls every year in all seasons missing hikers. Experienced and novice. Many of them turn up dead. Respect nature, my friends. Ive heard the horror stories. Never think you know better.
Good advice that I wished everyone would abide by and usually they panic and are found not very far from their vehicle. That's why a good map and compass are essential, plus an orienteering class to learn how to use a compass and a map, don't even bother taking a cell phone, a satellite radio or phone would be the life saving equipment they need.
I'll stick to the strip for now..
Yes! The actor from Harry Potter died in Death Valley!💔
@@princessofthecape2078 judgemental
@@princessofthecape2078
I feel sorry for you.
Coyotes probably dragged off the kids' bodies. There are huge packs of them out in that area. If you go out there @ midnight, you can hear them howling all night.
Thank you for speaking these cautions regarding Death Valley. Although it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been and one of my favorite spots on the planet it is also VERY dangerous and people don’t realize its power and ability to take you out. I made the mistake years ago going through there in the heat of late afternoon in late June without AC and wound up in the hospital hooked up to a banana bag in Bishop that night. I had been drinking water AND Gatorade the whole way. Being from the PNW at the time I didn’t get its power and I have soooo much more respect for that place now! Much love and respect to you for doing this video. I live in Nevada now and understand the desert more, but man that was a steep learning curve. This is such a sad and necessary story for those who come to this region from more forgiving climates. Thanks for sharing! ❤️👊
Well presented Sarah. I watched all of this video and had a sick feeling in my stomach as you narrated the story. I've always had a healthy fear of remote places such as regions like Death Valley. I live in Australia and there are plenty of barren regions here (The Outback) where you can find yourself in dire straights if you leave the bitumen roads.
I am German and was in Death Valley at 1989. I was with a organized tour so nothing happens to me, because they guide us on save path. I gues the self organized tourist get the map wrong. At this days a road mapped in Germany means a road drivable with any vehicle. And then they made this error not turning when they saw the road was bad. Maby it was because they run out of fuel, money and time too.
For me the desserts of the US was like another planet. I never could calculate a risk from my expiriance. That must be they same thing for them. So they planed like in germany and that was there last error.
Europeans have no concept to how vast and desolate the western US is, or how hot 124°f(51c) is.
May all four rest in peace.
Thank you k for explaining what most likely took place. Growing up in the Southwest United States, we are very aware of the dangers of the desert and consider it common knowledge, however, I can see a foreigner underestimating those dangers, for the reasons you stated. Thank you for sharing your perspective.
So sad!
Glad you enjoyed a safe Death Valley NP adventure in 1989. Spent most of my childhood in West Germany (remember *West* Germany?) and summers vacationing around Europe with my folks. Nothing there compares to the vastness and remoteness of our untamed southwestern backcountry areas, even today. When exploring Death Valley NP in my 4x4, I let friends know my general travel plans, for day trips I carry 4 days worth of food, 8L of water for drinking, full-size spare all terrain tire, air compressor, various tools, self-extraction equipment, etc. Considering one of those satellite emergency phones. On my most recent visit to Death Valley, still felt like I was on another planet, which is part of its attraction.
@@problu9586 You know both. Germany(the good old one) and death valley. If you remenber Germany you know, when you get lost somewhere in a forrest and one of the "remote" aeres in germany you are not more then 3-4 Miles away from the next house. Nowhere here. I think that was in the mind of these tourists too. They where looking for houses(there must be some of them around) or the bnext gas station(there was to be one here anywhere) or a Kiosk just around the corner( There is alwyas something like that) Or even listing if the hear the next road with traffic or railway. All this is a garantee here in germany. but not in death valley or in a lot of other places in this part of the US. There is maby nothing then dirt, dust and ants for 50 miles. You have that in mind. I folowed poeple knowing this and help me acting right. but those tourists just did,what ever worked in there whole live. And that leades them to death. I travelt a lot in my younger years. even in Australia. The distances are even bigger there. But i still and maby never will realy understand that and be able to plan a save trip at my own.
Being a big fan of Tom Mahood’s blog also, I greatly enjoyed your videography of this tragic story. I would have been supremely impressed had you found a way to make it to east of Goler Wash, in an apparently unnamed wash on the southeast slope of Needle Peak, where the remains of the victims were found; but even Mahood, who made several trips there, said hiking into that particular pit of earthly hell scared him and once his driving curiosity about the case had been satisfied he would never think of returning. Too remote. Too dangerous.
Its was hard to click the like button for such a sad ending to the family. I can see how easily you could get into trouble if not prepared in Death Valley, or anywhere out like that in nature. Well Done WonderHussy, good story!!!!
A true cautionary tale. After all, it's not called "Sprained Ankle Valley" or "Tummy Ache Valley". This is what I tell the European tourists who I meet every year who have absolutely no clue what they are getting into. All they have is a map and some idea about it getting hot. Great job, WH. Excellent documentary.
I think they have no concept of the vastness of our parks and how brutal the weather is here in the states a few years back an English couple froze to death in I think it was Yellowstone they had gone out in winter not properly equipped and when their rented Jeep got stuck in snow they eventually ran out of gas to keep the car warm
@@chrisbayridge23 It's one thing for a young single traveler to wing it, but I'm constantly amazed at the occasional family who has done no prior research and has no concept. It's like someone in Vegas said "Go see Death Valley" and they said "Oh OK" . I think that's what happened to these people.
I'll stick with Paper Cut Valley.
I see this all the time at the Grand Canyon. It is nice and cool up at the rim, but when the tourists try to hike down it really heats up. Being ill prepared can be deadly. Luckily we had plenty of water to offer some them. Now the main trail has plenty of water stops and signage to warn others. Hiking down is optional, but hiking up is mandatory.
Alien abduction ... Bud Ice ... it's like water
I've been in this part of the World many times over the past 30 years, and I'm originally from the UK. You have to respect the desert, always be prepared, and most importantly don't make mistakes. One mistake can cost you everything. This is a fascinating yet very sad story of lack of planning IMHO. Don't ever mess with Mother Nature.
Amazing story told...you really did an outstanding job in creating this video. Thank you Wonderhussy
Please show consideration for the rest of the wold and as a matter of course in future, translate *F into *C during your narrative. Otherwise a fascinating and well presented story. Thanks.
Sorry, I meant to say 'consider'
Aidan Bannister what the fuck are you talking about?
@@aidanbannister9055 You can go to Google yourself and translate the F° reading to C°.
I thought her cap read Wonder Pussy.
You're a great story teller. My wife and I were spellbound. We were going to go to Death Valley last weekend but changed our minds. Don't know if I can convince my wife to go now.
I've been to Death Valley numerous times since the 1980s and have come to respect it very much especially during the Summer months when temperatures go over 120 degrees. Would never ever take one of these back roads where soft sand and rocks makes it impossible to pass without an offroad 4x4 truck. These Germans probably have never been to the desert before so they lacked understanding of how deadly it could be as evidenced by the lack of water they brought. They ultimately paid for it with their lives.
Anyways, this video is nice cause it shows the actual road/route the Germans took instead of just a map.
The van had several water containers and a bottle of bourbon in it. A 2 mile walk BACK on their road would have taken them to a paradise known as Willow spring. Inhabited by Indians for thousands of years. And another 2 miles back to a cabin filled with food and a spring fed bathtub. Germans hate to miss airplanes, and subconsciously they likely allowed that to distort their reasoning. I also doubt he was ever a Cub Scout.
Hello jam slam👋
I love that you made this video, mainly because I don't recall hearing about these unfortunate souls, as well as giving people some more 'in your face' reasons why to research and prepare for their adventures. Thank you for the thought put into the whole idea of this video as well.
Since Anthony Bourdain passed, you are my new favorite travel person.
This goes to show that when in the wilderness, if you don’t know where you are going! Always go back the way you came, because your vehicle has already done it once, it can do it again! And don’t travel in the desert without food and water for at least 3-4 days! Given the choices, if I were going to hike out, I would have gone over Mengel pass, as Trona and the mine near Ballarat are the closest places you would find and help. It’s very sad, I guess being from Europe, they just weren’t prepared for the sheer size and isolation of the desert!
I have an idea what Egbert's mind set was. My dad was second generation US born German. Let's talk about bullheaded. Smart, yes, but sure of himself and his abilities.
I was in DV a few weeks ago and it’s no joke. It was in the 50s when we were at Furnace Creek and I have no desire to visit in the summer heat. A very sad case of not being prepared.
Only three years earlier, I was also a german tourist. But as I was only 23 I decided to book an organised tour. Also because I have never visited another continent before, back in those days.
+Carsten Hemel *What time of year were you there? Do you remember the temperature and if you had experienced it before?*
So tragic a San Francisco man was found dead in the hot springs this week and his dog wandering around. Its a beautiful but dangerous place
I read the Mahood blog about how he figured out their movements and it was one of the most riveting thing I’ve ever read. Call it CSI Death Valley. it is very long but I wished there was more.
Yes that was a great read. Lots of other interesting stuff there too
1. Never go out into the desert in the summer. 2. Take lots of water, gallons and gallons of it. 3. 4WD high clearance is mandatory, extra gas tank is wise. 4. Know how to dig your way out. 5. Rental cars are no good off pavement.
So far the best video I have watched from you. The only thing missing for me is you did some maps showing the "roads' but were missing a summery map IE the cabin some 4 miles back "here", the van was found "here" and the bodies were found "here" .
But you did a great job in the research and videography.
this goes down as one of the best adventure videos i have seen. thank you for sharing this very sad and tragic story. RIP. stay safe out there. well done.
I've been lost a couple times in wilderness, one time with my then 7 months pregnant wife in a minivan on a road that she "thought" she had been on 10 years prior! I will never go into another remote area without talking to local experts / Rangers first along with being prepared! One off road expert told me it's always better to turn around no matter how far you've gone. What a sad story! I cannot imagine how they felt at the end!
Dead.
@@petebradt ok, just before that....
The kids likely died first and were probably buried by the parent/adults. That may be why the remains have yet to be found. I would imagine a search from the abandoned mini-van to the wallet, bones, and other related items that have been found may lead to two burial plots. Of course this may have already been done. And it is still a difficult search regardless.
Whenever you're considering a trip to Death Valley, the first thing to check is the weather report. If it's going to be over a hundred, don't go. If it's going to rain, don't go. And whenever you do go, go prepared!
With two small children in tow, they had NO BUSINESS taking all of the risks that they did, especially venturing out onto unpaved fire roads and washes in a 2WD minivan. If their intent was to see Ballarat, they could have simply driven north from Furnace Creek on 190 then, taken a detour south through Panamint Valley Rd. All paved. Then turned around and head north to Yosemite on 395. The children probably succumbed first to heat exhaustion and then died from heat stroke. You all should remember this unless you're in a 4WD with enough vertical clearance, plenty of supplies, and satellite communications equipment, if you're out there and the pavement stops SO SHOULD YOU...
Well done video. Wowwee! Explored the same area the same week as Wonderhussy. I arrived at Death Valley, 11 Feb 2019. During my trek, did not encounter any other vehicles, 'cept for a lone dirt bike parked at Warm Spring Camp when exploring the Striped Butte area. So tragic, the Germans did not walk the 4 miles from their stuck minivan back to Geologist Cabin. Would have been a reasonable hike with cooler higher altitude temps, even with their 2 youngsters in tow.
@ Mystery fan
Us Europeans may have a different mindset because everything over here is so well organised and regulated, especially in Germany. Here you are often warned at the beginning of a track about the dangers and more detailed maps may even show tracks in a different colour from roads, with a legend that they are just tracks instead of roads. And of course over here you're never really far off civilisation: distances here are way shorter than in an environment like Death Valley. And then there is the excessive heat they probably would have severly underestimated, since they were travelling in an air-conditioned minivan.
For these people it was an easy mistake to look at the map and think the trails were actually roads. Not realising the dangers of an evironment like Death Valley, although the name should pretty much be an give away, they must have thought they could easily walk these few miles down, because logically thinking downhill is much easier right? And maybe they didn't search the cabin(s) only four miles behind them for food or water and thought they were just abandoned, which could explain them taking the flag along in the minivan. That would make the choice of walking down the hills even more logical to them.
Tourists are often ill-prepared for situations they find themselves in, and stubbornly plowing along can get you into trouble really fast. And like Wonderhussy stated, these tracks get hard to go along only to then "clear up" and get much easier to travel, so inexperienced people might be lured into thinking the worst is now behind them, even if that happens time and again. Because, if this track would have been difficult to follow, it would have said so at the beginning and it would have been marked differently on the map, like in Europe, right?
@Dookie Howser
That's exactly my point, when you look at a map over here, like you say towns, cities and even countries are relatively close by. So if you go to the US, look at a map and don't take into account that it's probably on a very different scale than you're used to, you might think the next town is only a few clicks away, while in reality it can easily be upto a hundred miles away. The sheer difference in size is so huge, it wouldn't surprise me if that was also one of the factors that led to this tragedy.
Although I must say the idea some Americans have of Europe can also be hilarious. It used to be that Americans came over to Europe to "do a tour of Europe in a few days." They didn't take into account that the majority of roads here aren't straight for very long, so to travel a hundred miles in a crows flight, might be over 125 miles on the road, and the roads betweeen the cities over here tend to have far more traffic than in the US, which will slow you down and make your trip last even longer.
Because Germany is tiny compared to the US and has been around for many more years, the US is a vast and new country in the timeline of the world. Of course Germany is going to be more detailed in their maps and descriptions of roads because every inch of Germany has been heavily traveled for a longer period of time and every route and road has been heavily traveled. So the detail level of information on these roads will be higher. It is also because Germany does not have areas that are as inhospitable combined with being as large as Death Valley. These are places that there is no reason for humans to build well developed marked roads in because it is meant to be the backcountry similar to the Australian outback or Alaska/Siberia. There is nothing remotely close to the Death Valley region in Germany, even your most remote areas in Germany are not truly remote wilderness like Death Valley or Alaska@@tjroelsma
These are not the main roads in Death Valley, those are all signed/marked and well detailed with warnings. There was likely a warning sign at the beginning of the turn off to these unmaintained backcountry roads but the Germans ignored it following right along with their ignorance and reckless decisions at many other points in their journey @@tjroelsma
@Zach Roth
That may be so, but if you come from a well organised European country it may not always be clear to you what the dangers are and if what you see on the map is actually a road or a track. Tracks are very rare here in Europe, and they are marked differently on the maps. And yes, for some Europeans it must be very hard to imagine that in a modern country like the US there still are such very dangerous tracks. Like I said in an other reaction the mindset over here is very different, so for some people it can be easy to have a false sense of security and be lured in. In this case you can already tell a few simple facts that they would be unaccustomed to:
1. there are tracks that are rarely travelled and thus dangerous to navigate
2. there are rural areas that are pretty much uninhabited thus help is far away
3. there is absolutely no cellphone coverage
Although very logical if you think about it , tourists from Europe may not even realise these facts and simply continue, thinking that just that fact that they ARE travelling in a very civilized country will mean they are safe under all circumstances.
It's amazing that Egbert got as far as he did, especially considering all he had was beer and wine for liquids.
Maybe not. The geologist cabin had a spring. So hopefully Egbert and Cornelia knew enough to pour out the wine and beer and fill them with water.
@@tammymartinez7488 This is something that I've always wondered about: they couldn't have gone into this with nothing but beer and wine to drink. They had to have a supply of H2O even if just for the children.
Just found your videos...I was involved in some of the initial searches.
Anybody travelling alone , ( in a single vehicle ) is taking an incredible chance traveling on bad roads in deserted areas .
Without a Winch , Rope , Shovel , etc and the knowledge of how to get un - stuck , Your risking Your Life .
Ive done lots of off roading in my 1967 Bronco and I always knew that lots could go wrong if unpreparred .
People put too much faith in their Vehicles but lots of things can/will break and then Your all Done .
Thanks for pointing us to the blog. Your video is great, too, but he is so thorough - he was serious about finding them!! Thanks for sharing!!
Hello Leslie 🙌
Thank you so much for doing this video. Amazing work and peace and love
Great job doing this story Sarah , thanks for sharing.
JT
Wonder Hussy quote. "This isn't Disney Land." Glad you brought that satellite phone even if you didn't need it. If you break down out there in the dessert with no way to contact anyone an inconvenience can become deadly.
Also, I presume that they left detailed information with a trusted person back in civilization about their intentions and timelines, describing their equipment, vehicle, and so on. Knowing that somebody will alert the authorities to start looking for you when you haven't returned by your intended return date is a huge safety factor. Even the most modern GPS-based emergency alert beacons can fail, or batteries die, so letting someone know your plans is vital. I was surprised that she left this detail out of an otherwise excellent video.
This story upsets me in so many ways. Edgar made so many bad decisions. I appreciate how you presented this story but to be honest….Edgar was an absolute idiot! He made egoic decisions which ultimately caused his family a horrible death. I’m absolutely appalled by his actions. It makes me so sad that these children had to suffer this fate.
Cute little Death Valley is half the size of Belgium. 1/3 the size of Switzerland, so good luck driving a van across it in the summer.
Fuck, imagine an area that is 1/3 the size of CH with those temperatures & no humanity in sight.