Tuesday, September 22, 2020

A Lost Story

 In the US, you see almost on a weekly basis....someone going off on a hike in Colorado, California, or some western mountainous region.....then disappearing from sight.  In Germany, it's just awful rare that someone disappears in the German woods.  Well...this week, a missing report came up (via N-TV this morning).

The facts

German gal (26 years old) in fit condition and had hiked on her own a good bit before.

She leaves for a 120 kilometer route, going from Stühlingen....over to Wehr (Waldshut region).  The starting point is about 50 km NE of Basel, Switzerland (on the German side)....in a fair mountainous region. 

So you gaze over the territory, the route, and you come to this conclusion....even if you were lost, you'd just head north or south at any point in the trip and within two hours, you'd hit a road.  

The police are still out and looking for her....feeling positive that she'll turn up.  This is now 2 weeks since she left.  

Cellphone?  In her possession and she had been 'chatting' with the family for the first couple of days....then nothing.

The odds here?  She probably walk out on some trail, stumbled and feel into some area with zero cellphone reception. 

Bears?  Generally, Germans will say with absolute determination that they've exterminated virtually every single bear that has entered Germany (don't bring up the Bruno episode of 2006).

Because of so much 'civilization' existing in Germany today....it's nearly impossible to get lost.  But in this case, there are dozens of optional trails that go from the last contact point, to the final destination.  You could stage a thousand folks there, and unless she was absolutely precise on the planned trail business.....you'd just be walking for weeks in search of her. 

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