[pct-l] Into the Wild

[Don Billings]

Yes, I recall that the cable was noted as being roughly a mile down river (it has since been dismantled per the documentary that I watched).

But, I wasn't sure if it was actually listed on any maps. And, in all fairness, we all know that maps differ in detail. I don't even recall if he had 
a map. Or, if he did, was it a detailed map and one that would include such a crossing. 

And to demonstrate how poorly the investigation and reporting was on that incident, the remains were taken by authorities 
for autopsy. That was standard. BUT... the documentary pointed out that the investigating officers totally botched their 
investigation. They didn't even see the boy's backpack there in the bus. It was found after the fact by a man interviewed in the
documentary who still has it. The man owns a cabin in the region and went to look at the bus after he heard the news. And that man, in the film, pulled out the victim's identification, $300 cash, and other items pertaining to the boy's identity including his drivers license from Nevada.

So, I'm curious where the information came from that said the boy didn't have any map? If they didn't even see his backpack, how would
anyone know if he had a map?

If you get a chance to see the documentary, google it. I can't recall the name of it but it was produced not too long ago. Maybe a year ago. It was 
excellent. And, as I said, in the end you are shown Chris's actual backpack. Apparently, the family never contacted him to collect it.

As for being stupid, well. We all make stupid mistakes in life. Especially when we are in our early 20's. I don't fault him for that failure.



----- Original Message ----
From: Brick Robbins <brick at brickrobbins.com>
To: Don Billings <dbillings803 at yahoo.com>
Cc: Austin Williams <austinwilliams123 at gmail.com>
Sent: Wed, February 10, 2010 7:17:21 PM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Into the Wild

On Wed, Feb 10, 2010 at 5:33 PM, Don Billings <dbillings803 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> But a map & compass I'm not sure about. The reason he couldn't hike out was due to the flooding, ice cold river. Unless there was
> another way around that obstacle, a map/compass wouldn't have helped him escape.

If I recall from my reading about his death, a little bit down the
river, there was a flying fox cable across. It was on the map.

Stupid is as stupid does.