Family lost on Christmas tree hunt found alive

Source: CNN

(CNN) -- A father and his three teenage children have been found alive in the rugged hills of northern California, authorities said Wednesday.

The father and his children vanished after venturing into the snowy woods to cut down a Christmas tree on Sunday.

The family was found alive about 1 p.m. (4 p.m. ET), said Trina Wehle, dispatch supervisor for the Butte County Sheriff's Department.

Earlier Wednesday, more than 80 searchers combed the rugged hills looking for Frederick Dominguez and his three teenage children.

Dominguez's former wife, Lisa Sams, reported Dominguez and their three children missing on Monday evening, according to police in Paradise, California, a town of 27,000 that is roughly 90 miles north of Sacramento.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/12/19/missing.family.found/index.html

It's funny; I only heard they were missing a few hours ago, but I've been worried.

I'm happy they're okay. :)

Glad to hear that they were found alive.

I see where this post is going

I'm glad to see that it hasn't deteriorated yet.

It was awful, hearing about that poor family that got lost on the coast, a while back.

I'm sure that mother is beside herself with joy.

Tree hunting? Christmas tree hunting? Never having celebrated the usurped pagan holiday, I was never too up on what people do for it (aside from the 24/7 barrage on TV/radio/newsmedia starting around mid November), but I suddenly feel that I know so very little about it.

What does one do on a tree hunt? How do you skillfully track a tree through the woods? More importantly, how do you discern a 'Christmas tree' from your every-day, run-of-the-mill evergreen?

their being lost then found seems to overshadow that what they were doing was a crime to mother earth. x( Glad they were found but I hope next year they get a tree somewhere else rather than poaching one from a national forest.

For many it's a fun tradition to go into the forest to find a tree.

I didn't know that.

You can get a permit for $10, which is usually a lot cheaper than retail lots (I bought my tree at a lot this year and paid $40 for a 6 footer). The national forests usually plow that fee money back into their tree planting programs, and the $10 gained from losing one tree can help to plant five more. Since the cut trees are typically less than 5 years old, the impact to the forest is minimal.

More importantly, in my opinion, tree cutting programs like these help to foster a connection between people and the forest. I grew up looking forward to our family tree hunt, and I regret that I can't offer my own kids that same experience every year (the NF nearest to my home stopped selling permits in the 1980's, though they're now considering opening it back up). Those wintertime treks through the forest to find the perfect tree helped to instill a love of the forest that still perists today.

They should get a fake tree, just like fake fur (fir?) :hippie:

but there is a big difference between a national forest, and a national park. As for crimes against 'mother earth', are you posting from a house made at least partly of wood, or does your cave have an Internet connection?

http://www.chicoer.com/news/ci_7760153

A San Francisco 49ers beanie cap worn by the youngest of the four was found by a family friend just before noon, providing a point to focus the search.

Shortly thereafter, a CHP helicopter able to join the search since weather conditions had eased, found the word "help" spelled out with twigs on the snow. Radio traffic reported two people were sighted waving frantically. All four then emerged and were recovered.

The four apparently survived by huddling in a concrete culvert under the A-Line logging road.

..snip

The search had been focused on the area north of Inskip until family friend Kevin Salzbury found the black beanie about three-quarters of a mile west of the junction of Powellton Road and the Skyway, south of Inskip.

..snip

and the other sadder story is that a Chico State history professor, his wife and nephew died when their car was run off the road and found upside down in a ditch this morning. Their 19 year old son survived. Woodland is outside of Sacramento. Please drive carefully and watch out for other drivers.

http://www.chicoer.com/news/ci_7759847
UPDATE: Chico State professor, two others killed in watery crash
By E-R Staff
Article Launched: 12/19/2007 08:28:10 AM PST


A handout photo of Weikun Cheng, a Chico State University history professor. Cheng, his wife...
WOODLAND — A Chico State University history professor, Weikun Cheng, his wife Xiaoping, and their nephew died in an automobile accident at about 6:25 a.m. today on Highway 113, just north of Seymour Road.
Their son Stephen, 19, survived.

California Highway Patrol reports a vehicle was found upside down in a water-filled roadside ditch.

Professor Cheng has taught at Chico State since 1997, teaching Asian and world history. His specialty is the historical view of Chinese women, a topic on which he wrote a book that is due out next year, said university spokesman Joe Wills.

Officers are searching for the driver of a second car who allegedly forced the crashed auto off the road and into the ditch. The second vehicle did not stop at the scene.

But good news they were found alive.

they BUY a tree.

For many families, it is a tradition.

However, they should've been way better prepared. I hope they learn from their experience.

It's an annual event out west- some person or family wanders up from the relatively mild valleys and into the mountains without proper gear- or without making local inquiries and gets lost (and as often as not- gets dead).

I thought they were illegally chopping them down.

This morning on MSNBC, I think, reports were pretty bleak.

I know the fun it is of going out and cutting ones own christmas tree, my dad and I used to do it. However, before going out on such an outing, we would always check THE WEATHER REPORT!!!

When you live in that part of the country at this time of the year, storms are very likely. And since they were more than likely not in a cell phone accessible area, various precautions should have been taken.

but they are alive and that is the main thing.

seriously though, nice to see a happy ending. i bet they will be getting an artificial tree next year.

I've been through Inskip and that area many times, driving up to go camping on the national forest lands.

A tragedy happened in Inskip about 4 years ago -- a severely mentally ill man killed two of Butte County's finest deputies in a worthless gun battle that also left him dead. He was psychotic, delusional and hearing voices. The sad thing was that the same two cops had come to my house one night a few months earlier when I called reporting lights and noises in the vacant house next door to mine. They were super nice. Turns out the landlord was doing stuff at 2:00 AM for some bizarre reason, had left, but had left lights and a TV on... go figure.

Never wander into the woods in bad weather without carrying a knapsack of survival equipment. Doesn't have to be much -- first, make sure you can start a fire. It will save your life. A few lighters, perhaps a small airtight metal bottle of camp fuel or some fire-starter sticks. Carry a mylar space blanket -- they weigh next to nothing. Carry a compass and a reflection mirror for signalling. 1000 lb. test nylong rope (actually very thin). Water purification tablets. Safety pins and a small sewing kit. A knife. A few clothes pins. Some very high fat/protien snacks that will last for years in their foil. A metal cup for drinking. Water if the area is very dry, otherwise collect water and purify it. Of course, if you have the money, buy a GPS device and carry a map of the area.

First aid equipment is vital too. Pain relievers, previously mentioned water purification tablets, bandages of all sizes (including an ace bandage), first aid instructions, anti-nausea and anti-diarheaha medicine... All of the above can fit into an amazingly small and light set of bags-- the size of fanny packs.

Now, if you get lost, DON'T WANDER. Stay put and start a fire and keep it going. If it is in the summer, a fire outpost will eventually see the smoke. If it is in the winter, it will KEEP YOU ALIVE and will signal for help. Start with the smallest twigs then add larger and larger branches. Let the fire make a lot of smoke. Anyone looking for you will see the smoke eventually.