Lost and Found

Emma and Marissa on ATV's

 For Fall Break Jeff took Marissa and Emma to Moab to do some ATVing and bike riding.  Their first day there they decided to do a combo ride where the girls rode their ATV and Jeff rode his mountain bike.  The trail they chose had a special loop for the mountain bike.  Once they reached this turn off Jeff told the girls to turn around and follow their tracks back to the truck, he said he would be there when he was done with his bike ride. Marissa had her cell phone and the keys to the truck so they could get in the truck when they got back or call Jeff if there were any problems.  

When Jeff finished his ride and got back to the truck there were no girls.  Not to panic he called them on the cell phone and found out they were lost. At this point the girls were starting to get a little concerned because it was getting dark.  They didn't know where they were or how to get back to the truck.  Jeff didn't have any truck keys to get into the truck where the keys to his ATV were. He told the girls to see if there were any other people around that knew how to get back to the parking lot.  They found a bike rider that said they could follow him back.  Jeff waited by the truck and asked every one coming back to the parking lot if they had seen two girls on ATV's.  Finally THE bike rider got to the parking lot and told Jeff that the girls had been following him until just a little while back and then they turned off on a side trail.  He told Jeff if he hurried he might be able to still find them.  So, rode back on his bike and looked along the trails, but still no luck. This bike rider was also concerned and volunteered to help Jeff find the girls. Jeff called the girls again and now they were crying, scared and it was dark. Then their phone battery died.  At this point Jeff called search and rescue and explained what had happened.  They asked if anyone was there helping him and he told them the name of the bike rider.  They said that he was a local and knew the trails as well as they did - they suggested giving it another hour and if the girls were still lost to call back.  Jeff found a hammer in the storage of his ATV; and, after three hits, was able to break the rear drivers side window of the truck to get the ATV keys.  He and the biker exchanged cell phone numbers and started canvasing the area on bike and ATV to find the girls.  Driving in the dark and searching for the girl's headlights - Jeff was becoming a little frantic.  They could hear them screaming and caught glimpses of their lights.  Finally Jeff got a call from the bike rider saying the girls had been found.  One of the ATV batteries died and so Jeff had to rush to their location to load them on his ATV and drive them back to the truck. They were scared, but safe.  In all they were lost for about 3 hours and found before they had to spend the night in the desert. When asked why they stopped following the biker - they said they thought they knew where they were and didn't need his help any more.

The lessons of the night went beyond survival and what to do when you get lost - the parallels taught them all some valuable lessons.  Heavenly Father loves us and worries about us getting lost in life.  He gives us leaders to follow to get us back home. Sometimes we think we know where we are and believe we don't need their help.  But that usually just gets us off on the wrong track.  The girls learned about getting answers to their prayers as they knelt in the desert and pleaded for help to find their way back and to be found.  Once they were safe again they felt an overwhelming gratitude for their guardian angel that came to their rescue. We are all grateful that they are safe and sound!
 

The Truck window - or lack there of.

Glass from the broken window.