Welcome to another edition of Survival Weekly, where the real wilderness survival “reality show” plays out everyday, in the wild places around our world. These unscripted stories will give you insight to the true threats and challenges you may face in your outdoor pursuits. So sit back, relax, and read on to get a dose of reality to sharpen your most valuable survival tool. – BPO

Featured – 

7 year old survives plane crash – http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/02/us/kentucky-plane-crash/

News – 

First person account of getting rescued – http://www.xojane.com/it-happened-to-me/lost-in-the-mountains-of-north-carolina

Winter Sports – 

Mount Rainier National Park (WA)
Search For Missing Snowshoer Comes To Tragic Conclusion

The search for a 37-year-old local man who was overdue from a snowshoeing trip in the park came to a tragic conclusion on December 29th when ground crews located his body next to Edith Creek in the Paradise area, not far from the point last seen.

The man went missing on the evening of December 27th during a winter storm that dropped 20 inches of snow in 48 hours. He intended to overnight at Camp Muir, but only made it as far as Panorama Point due to formidable winter storm conditions.

A party of two waiting out the storm at Panorama Point took him into their shelter, but when the shelter was destroyed by the extreme conditions they attempted to complete their descent to Paradise together. During the descent, the man became separated from his companions in the vicinity of Edith Creek.

A hasty search was conducted on December 28th, with members of the Nordic Patrol scouring main routes in the area. Operations expanded on December 29th to include air and ground searches from Edith Creek to the upper Stevens Canyon drainage.

Members of Tacoma, Everett, Seattle, and Olympic Mountain Rescues participated in the ground search. A Chinook from the US Army Reserve’s 214th Air Division, Joint Base Lewis McChord, with park climbing rangers aboard searched by air. Approximately 30 NPS and partner personnel were assigned to the incident. David Keltner was incident commander.

Hiking – 

Search suspended for missing hiker – http://www.thenewstribune.com/2014/12/29/3562638/search-for-olympic-national-park.html

FLETC classmate Hinchy to the rescue!! – http://www.nbc29.com/story/27749624/park-rangers-rescue-hiker-near-old-rag-mt#.VKeo0v6pomo.facebook

Tracks of missing hiker found – http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11382483

Hikers rescued – http://poststar.com/news/local/adirondack-forest-ranger-search-and-rescue-highlights-dec–/article_96ac1a74-94ef-11e4-9dd5-5b54d5d746e2.html

Leave a location in your trip plan – http://www.kelownanow.com/watercooler/news/news/Provincial/15/01/05/Search_and_Rescue_Called_in_to_Look_for_Missing_Vancouver_Man

Hunter-gatherer – 

Missing hunter found – http://www.scsun-news.com/silver_city-news/ci_27262788

Fishermen rescued – http://www.news-mail.com.au/news/chopper-search-and-rescue-mission-near-baffle-cree/2500109/

Climbing – 

Climber rescued – http://www.havasunews.com/news/mohave-county-search-and-rescue-volunteers-help-man-stuck-on/article_49168308-904e-11e4-8b11-b727d75687bd.html

Water Safety – 

Two bodies recoovered in boating fatality – http://www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/Emergency-Crews-Conducting-Search-and-Rescue-on-Lake-Talquin-287421731.html

Dive team recovers drowning victim – http://www.wfla.com/story/27764635/pasco-dive-team-member-reflects-on-search-and-rescue-efforts

Vehicles – 

Missing mountain bikers found – http://www.hometownstation.com/santa-clarita-news/lost-santa-clarita-valley-hikers-found-by-search-and-rescue-117468

Helicopter diverted from plane crash search to water rescue – http://www.voxy.co.nz/national/search-and-rescue-teams-kept-busy-near-ruakaka/5/211241

Urban – 

Search continues for missing woman – http://www.chillicothegazette.com/story/news/crime/2014/12/30/search-resumes-missing-woman/21051643/

Interested in learning skills to handle emergencies like the ones you read in Survival Weekly?   Check out BigPig Outdoors Survival 101 class  – http://www.bigpigoutdoors.net/survival-101-1.html