A 49-year-old woman and her 9-year-old son who found themselves stranded deep in the dense Stanislaus National Forest late last week left a trail of handwritten notes that helped their rescuers locate them, officials announced this week.
On July 11, the pair traveled from the Sacramento area to Camp Wolfeboro for an overnight camping trip, officials with the Calavera County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
During their excursion, the 49-year-old was using a GPS unit that offered alternate routes to their destination along with more common ones, and the GPS unit lost its signal, the mother and son were already well inside a remote area of the forest and were unable to retrace their route back out.
Rescue efforts unfolded on July 12 after a person reported that the woman and her son had not returned or called as expected.
“A deputy was dispatched to initiate a missing persons investigation, and the search and rescue team was deployed to begin search efforts,” officials said. “The reporting party also provided a location obtained from a location-sharing app they previously used with the missing persons.”
A command post was established in a recreational area off Highway 4 where team members began “assessing the terrain and the complex network of interconnecting, labyrinth-like roads” to establish search parameters.
During the early part of the rescue effort, a Forest Service Law Enforcement Ranger responded to a 911 text from a camper around Black Springs and Winton roads who said they’d seen a vehicle matching the missing persons report at around 4 p.m. the previous day.
“This information, along with data provided by the reporting party, confirmed that the teams were searching in the correct area,” officials said.
While stranded with no GPS or cellphone signal, deputies said the pair took actions to increase the likelihood of being rescued, including using the vehicle’s hazard lights at night. The 9-year-old also utilized an international signal for help by periodically using his whistle in three short bursts.
Then there were the mother’s handwritten notes.
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A mother and her son were lost in a remote forest area were rescued in part because of handwritten notes they left along the trail on July 12, 2025. (CCSO) -
A mother and her son were lost in a remote forest area were rescued in part because of handwritten notes they left along the trail on July 12, 2025. (CCSO) -
A mother and her son were lost in a remote forest area were rescued in part because of handwritten notes they left along the trail on July 12, 2025. (CCSO) -
A mother and her son were lost in a remote forest area were rescued in part because of handwritten notes they left along the trail on July 12, 2025. (CCSO)
A search and rescue team spotted the first note at around 5:40 p.m. at the intersection of a forest service road.
“Help. Me and my son are stranded with no service and can’t call 911,” the note read. “We are ahead, up the road to the right. Please call 911 and get help for us.”
Following the note’s directions, rescuers spotted another note about a mile from the first, providing additional information, including the names of the missing pair and a telephone number.
The mother and son were found about another mile from the second note.
Because of the dense forest and canopy in the remote location, the rescue team was unable to communicate to the command post that the pair had safely been found.
“They utilized an amateur radio frequency, commonly known as HAM radio, to establish communication. After broadcasting “emergency traffic” on the HAM radio, their call was immediately answered by a retired El Dorado County Communications Supervisor who was a HAM operator monitoring frequencies from his home,” officials said. “This HAM operator then contacted the El Dorado 911 center, which provided the information to Calaveras Dispatch, and the SAR command post was notified.”
The search and rescue crew assisted the mother and her son in driving back to the command post where their family was waiting for them.
“Of importance in the successful outcome was their pre-trip notification of telling someone where they were going and when to expect them back,” officials said.