By CHARLENE DEAN
PVT
Three women left Pahrump Thursday, July 22, expecting to take a sightseeing tour to Scotty’s Castle in Death Valley and be home in time for dinner.
That was not to be.
Donna Cooper, 62, Gina Cooper, 17, and a house guest visiting from Hong Kong, 19-year-old Jenny Leung, left the Cooper residence around 11 a.m., made the trip to Scotty’s Castle and seemingly disappeared.
Although it was unusual for Donna Cooper to not tell the caretaker for the family’s property — this reporter — that she wasn’t coming home, no one, including Cooper’s husband, who was in Florida, became alarmed until Gina Cooper didn’t show up for work at 4 p.m. Friday afternoon.
Being a responsible young woman, not calling her employer was out-of-the-ordinary.
Rodger Cooper requested his caretaker assist with filing a missing persons report with Nye County Sheriff’s Office and Deputy Mark Cannon was dispatched to take the information. After consulting with Cooper’s husband in Florida by phone, the deputy returned to the sheriff’s office and filed a nationwide “be on the lookout” for the three missing women.
The women had been in Death Valley 28 hours and counting. The family was frantic. Gina Cooper was an athlete for Death Valley Academy but Donna Cooper had been suffering from sudden bouts of heat exhaustion and Leung stood five-foot-seven-inches tall and only weighed about 110 pounds.
When no word came from NCSO by 6:30 a.m. Saturday morning, the caretaker called asking if something could be done to get air support involved in a search for the women.
An NCSO dispatcher, only identified as “Lori,” answered the call. She said, “We can’t tell California what to do to get involved.” There was no mention of calling Nye County Search and Rescue. Asked what could be done by an individual, she gave a list of phone numbers including Death Valley National Park Ranger Station, Inyo County Sheriff’s Office and California Highway Patrol.
The calls were made. None of the agencies had any of the details other than the “be on the lookout” released by NCSO the evening before. No alarm had been raised.
A return phone call came from Inyo County Deputy Richards who listened to the details and said he was heading to the ranger station in Death Valley to see what could be done. He said air support was likely and promised to be in touch within the next couple of hours. It was 10 a.m., and the temperatures in Death Valley would reach 128 degrees.
At noon on Saturday, tense family members and friends learned California officials were in action. Two aircraft from Victorville had been dispatched to start searching Death Valley. A helicopter from one of the Air Force bases in California, it was hoped, would join the search. Three teams of Special Forces were on the ground searching the back country — those trained to withstand the harsh environment and lend help to those who might succumb.
Financial information about Cooper’s credit cards was obtained online by her daughter in Florida who reported to Deputy Richards only two transactions on Thursday, one for fuel and one for tickets to Scotty’s Castle. Wherever they were, the women were without food or water. It was 2 p.m. They had been missing for 49 hours.
With California aircraft and DVNP employees, deputies and dispatchers from Inyo County all working together, it would still take five hours, and, according to CHP Pilot Scott Steele, one final pass over an area miles from Scotty’s Castle to find the missing women.
It was 5 p.m. Saturday when the call came from California Highway Patrol that the women had been found. A CHP helicopter had spotted the car on a deserted stretch of dirt road.
Although Cooper was, according to Steele, 128 miles from Scotty’s Castle, she had traveled over 400 miles on the unmarked system of trails in Death Valley and run out of gas.
Cooper said she had GPS onboard, and tried to use it. “It kept telling me to go one mile and turn either right or left on Saline Valley Road.” Cooper said she never saw a road sign and sometimes she’d go one mile and there was no turn at all.
Cooper said by the time the fuel light came on in her Hyundai Accent, she had traveled so many miles there was no turning back. So she kept going forward hoping to come out of the desolation to “a paved road leading somewhere.”
“It didn’t happen,” Cooper said. “When the car stopped the first night, we were in relatively little shade, but it was late and we slept in the car.
“At that point we had three-quarters of a bottle of water between us.”
Gina Cooper took a two-mile hike the next morning to see if she could get above the rocks and see some sign of life to which the group could walk. Her report — desert and more desert.
Cooper decided they had to move to another location. It was starting to get hot.
“It was a miracle when the car started, and even more of a miracle when we got turned around and back-tracked 45 miles on a below-empty tank of gas,” she said.
The car came to a stop at a cluster of trees Cooper said she remembered having passed. Having no other choice in the scorching heat, the group made an “X” in the road behind the disabled car out of two found poles, four big rocks and Gina Cooper’s San Francisco 49ers bandana used as a spot of red in the cross. They wrote “Help Us” and “Please Call Police” across the rear of the car, and walked into shelter offered by the trees.
“The road was so hot it was burning my feet through my shoes,” said Cooper.
“What we found was amazing. There in the middle of nowhere were three trailers, a screened sleeping porch and a couple of storage containers.
“There was no one around, and needing any kind of help we could get, we peeked into the window of one of the trailers and saw a two-way radio on the table.” The women proceeded to try the doors and windows until finally, a screen opened far enough to allow Leung to slip through and open the door for the others.
They never did get the radio working but they found something much more important — water — and food. “We turned on the faucets and hot water came out of both of them. It didn’t matter. It was water,” Cooper said.
At 5 p.m. Saturday, a noise captured Leung’s attention and going outside she was thrilled to see a helicopter making circles over the property. Grabbing a yellow blanket and waving it frantically, she screamed for Cooper who was inside.
“When I came out to see what she was yelling about — well — I’ve never seen anything so beautiful in all my life as that helicopter. I could see the CHP on the bottom of it and knew we’d been found,” said Cooper with tears in her eyes.
As it turned out, Cooper was on Saline Valley Road and had never seen a road sign anywhere.
The group was airlifted to the California Highway Patrol office at Lone Pine, to fill out a report and make arrangements to get fuel.
“They put us in touch with a guy named ‘Lizard’ Lee,” said Cooper. “Apparently he lives in the desert and keeps extra fuel somewhere. He brought enough gas to give me three-quarters of a tank and met us back at the car.”
Cooper and the girls pulled into her Pahrump driveway at 3 a.m. Sunday morning — safe and sound.
“We are more grateful than words can ever express,” said Cooper. “And to Marilyn Moyer and Peder Samuelson, of Atherton, Calif., who own the property where we stopped, you saved our lives. Thank you so much.”
The one thing she asks of Death Valley National Park is to mark every road at every intersection — it could save a life.
Glad that the outcome was a good one. However, it’s really, really surprising that someone from the desert area would venture out without EXTRA water (well above what you thought was needed for a few hours trip) and adequate maps, in case you ended up somewhere you didn’t intend to go.
“I have maps but none of them show the roads we were on, and why would I have a map that does anyway? ” This points out two flaws: You ventured onto roads that were not on your maps (and so you didn’t know where they would lead) and you still don’t recognize that it’s your responsibility to have maps that cover any territory that you MIGHT get to. With good maps, your GPS could have helped you navigate out from wherever you were.
No one ever PLANS to be lost for three days. But it’s irresponsible not to 1. have the right tools (maps, in this case) to reduce the possibility that it will happen, and 2. be prepared for the possibility that it could happen (with adequate water and food.)
Glad that it had a good outcome but the lesson is – it could have been prevented.
You just can’t fix STUPID
Just make one thing clear to me please. How could you get off road from Scotty’s Castle? Where did you venture off the paved road. We have been to Scotty’s Castle and around several times and I just can’t imagine where that unpaved road started. Where you on your way to Ubehebe Crater and accidentally took Rd to the Racetrack? It does not make sense to me at all.
Donna, I am truly glad that you and your companions returned home safely, albeit a lot wiser.
Michelle, you should learn of whom you speak before accusing them of being childish. I know Scootertrash and he will go to all ends to seek the safe return of someone in need as Donna Cooper and her companions found themselves. He would seek your safe return as well. His point, which has been made by many others, is quite simple. Do not rely on a GPS device for navigation in unfamiliar country. Using one for unimproved back-country roads is not the same as using one for paved streets and highways. If you recall, a young woman from Las Vegas learned the hard way last year what can happen when trust is placed in a GPS device. Her son lost his life because of it. She relied on her GPS to guide her on unfamiliar back-country roads in Death Valley and the outcome is a very sad situation. It was also preventable. And the name “Scootertrash” would make perfect sense to you if you knew what he does for a living. In fact, Donna’s rescuers may know him.
Bob McCoy, I have been traveling the area around Death Valley for over 40 years and, except for a few private signs placed at specific localities, road signage in the back-country around Death Valley is minimal at best and not the result of vandals. The AAA signs of which you speak were posted many decades ago at major intersections for tourists that were new to the area, and were not designed for the back-country traveler. Should there be back-country signage? That’s up for debate.
Donna made stupid .poor decisions,
she didnt do everything right,SHE GOT LOST.
she kept going when lost!
she drives down dirt roads instead of signed paced roads.
she relied on non reliable means – gps.
she didnt have a map.
she didnt have enough food and water.
she didnt ‘THINK’ she’d get lost[oxymoron].
stay home in the future..
save us the trouble of looking for you-NEXT TIME.
SHUT UP if you know NOTHING! I bet you would just do the same thing if you were in their situation. Wake up!
does it hurt being stupid?
”I have maps but none of them show the roads we were on, ”and why would I have a map that does anyway?” I had no intention of ever going there!’
WELL——- YOU SURE WENT THERE THIS TIME~!
”I have no intention of ever carrying a gas can in my car, and 2 gallons wouldn’t have done anything but get us more LOST”
THAT STUPID DECISION ALMOST GOT YOU KILLED AND YET YOU DEFEND IT?
”We got lost. Period. We weren’t being irresponsible. We simply got lost’
THAT SURE IS IRRESPONSIBLE! DUH!!
”We didn’t know” we were going to be lost in the desert for three days, so we DRANK most of the water!
HELLO!!??? ANYBODY HOME!? YOU DIDNT PREPARE VERY WELL FOR THAT TRIP TO THE HOT DESERT –”’D-E-A-T-H V-A-L-L-E-Y”’ DID YOU??
YOU DIDNT KNOW? HA HAHAHAHAAAAAAAA!!
ALL YOUR WATER? 2 GALLONS FOR 3 PEOPLE? DESERT ENVIROS= 1 GALLON MIN. OP. PER PERSON- PER DAY,[2 IS A BETTER RATIO] HOW MANY WERE THERE OF YOU?
”For that few hour trip, I HAD plenty of water, snacks, 2 different cellphones and chargers. I had extra clothes, shoes, sunglasses, blankets, first aid kit, emergency road kit with tools, a good knife, a spare tire and a FULL TANK OF GAS”
WHAT ABOUT BRAINS?
”There are NO signs on any roads anywhere that we drove on.”
SURE ARE!- HIWAY 190 AT DEATH VALLEY JUNCTION ”FURNACE CREEK 29 MILES”
AT FURNACE CREEK A SIGN= ’20 MILES TO STOVE PIPE WELLS TURN OFF HIWAY 190′.
AT THAT JUNCTION A SIGN ”UBEHEBE CRATER 39 MILES, SCOTTYS CASTLE 35.5.
YOU MISS THOSE SIGNS? I SEE THEM EVERYDAY.
OH! THATS RIGHT! YOU GOT LOST!!
So three women survive a harrowing UNEXPECTED experience due to a lucky turn of events and the actions of the CHP and their family and friends and all anyone can do is YELL AT THEM IN CAPITAL LETTERS, berate them for “stupidity,” argue amongst yourselves, call each other names and be computer-chair quarterbacks? Johnny, especially, take a chill pill. Get over yourselves and focus on the real story here!
Donna, Jenny and Gina – so glad you made it home safely. So glad you were able to reach that stand of woods and the trailers with life-saving supplies! So glad your family and friends shot into action and made the authorities listen to them.
I just have one question and it’s not a criticism. I just wonder if you think having a compass and noting your travels on a map of the area might have given you a better sense of how to return. I’ll be traveling there in the future without gps and would like to do the safest thing.
Having hiked the Australia outback (which is not mapped for all you freaks who insist maps would have made all the difference) I know (from the stories) how many people die from underestimating the sheer magnitude of the space, the heat, the danger.
Donna, you sound more prepared than most and you were preparing for a trip which apparently got off track unexpectedly and for which you couldn’t plan.
In Oz (what Australia is called down under) knowing how easily that can happen, people know to carry fuel, extra spare tires, fan belts, hoses, etc when going into the bush, along with more water than you think you’ll need, food, shelter, flares, matches.
But the Australian bush covers most of the country and kids grow up knowing the magnitude of its dangers. We Americans aren’t taught to respect Death Valley and other wilderness areas in that same way and what’s worse, we aren’t taught basic survival skills before we venture out into them.
You did so many things right – used the tools you had to the best of their ability to help you, stayed with the vehicle, put clear markings around it when you moved away from it, stayed together, found shelter – Don’t let the haters get you down!
Oh, and Donna?
The next time you go shopping, or to the next town, or anywhere at all, you might want to take Johnny, or John, or Tet14, or cant’tfixstupid or jr, or murphy – or take all of them together. Obviously they NEVER make mistakes, NEVER get lost and NEVER do anything they learn from later.
Oh, and take Michelle along too – she seems a real charmer and I’m sure they’ll all have fun pointing out each others HUGE faults!
Really, I’d love to see them all in a room together…
You did something right, which did turn out to be crucial for survival:
- Stayed close to the car (which is the obvious thing S&R would search for first)
- Seeked shelter
of things. I’m sure a lot of other people will agree with me.
Just a note about the cell phones. We had 2 and were from different services. We also had car chargers. The cell phone was plugged into the charger so the battery wouldn’t go dead. 911 was called. It said ‘searching for emergency service’. The phone was redialed every 15 minutes for hours at a time and left ‘searching’ while we moved along the roads. Neither phone ever picked up a signal either while moving or when we stopped. The phones were held out the window to make very sure there was nothing to prevent the signal from reaching. Nothing. You could say my phone was no good or anything you want (and I’m so sure someone will) but when 2 phones do not work, I think it’s safe to say you can NOT reach 911 from everywhere.
There is a lot that happened that is not in this article. Unless you were there, you really shouldn’t pass judgement. You really never know what you would do unless it happened to you.
Any place on the internet where readers can leave comments, you will find hateful replies, and bickering between commenters. It’s pretty sad. People say things in forums that they would never say to a person’s face. They think because nobody knows who they are, they are free to unleash all their own anger, hate and frustration on someone else. We are human beings and as such are terribly imperfect. We all make mistakes from childhood to the grave. Rather than trying to belittle someone else for theirs; perhaps we should work on our own. We can learn from each other. That was my hope. The reason that my daughter, my friend and I survived is because I learned from things I read….other peoples mistakes.
AND TO JOHNNY and others here that have made less than kind comments; I want to let you know that your comments say much more about you than they do about me.
Dona, we are all happy to hear that all three of you are safe and in remarkably good shape. Clearly, that is because you did some smart things that probably saved your lives:
stayed with the car
tried to re-start it in the am when it appeared to be out of gas
scouted to see if there was anything in sight
re-traced your route to a place where you remembered there was shelter
made distress signals in the road
did not blow a tire (I assume you were driving slowly and prudently)
kept your wits about you
The Death Valley National Park website and brochures do state that cellphone coverage is not available or reliable in the park. It also states that visitors need to keep to paved roads in the summer. These are two points about DV travel that you really should have been aware of.
Anyway, I’m curious as to where you think you made a wrong turn and how you think it could be remedied. Where were you trying to do to? Racetrack? Ubehebe Crater? It might be invaluable for others to understand how one could easily make a mistake and get off the road.
Where were you found on Saline Valley Road? I assume you didn’t actually get into Saline Valley with your car. Maybe if you could enlighten us on your route, we could make some suggestions to rangers or other desert rats who explore Death Valley and put in some signposts or warning signs.
Again, I’m relieved to hear you are all well and safe.
As per usual, the clueless and the trolls are out in force.
It’s pretty clear that the precautions that you took saved your life (plus being very lucky to run into shelter in one of the most inhospitable places on earth). I’ve done lots of desert hiking and have lived through it, with occasionally harrowing results (such as getting stuck in a snowstorm in May in New Mexico, which disappeared as quickly the next day) – it’s always been my opinion that if you lived, you did it right.
I’ve never been to Death Valley though, and I’d love to do some google earth sightseeing – do you have any idea which ro
whoops, sorry about that, got cut off. I found Saline Valley road in death valley – you were on one of those tiny brown lines you always see when you fly over the mountains! I wonder if you would have made it in another 120 miles or so. Clearly not the recommended route though, but perhaps the GPS chose it because it’ massively shorter distance than using the highway, if a lot less safe.
her actions got her lost!
her actions werent logical.
how does anyone -in there right mind, get off the main paved road?, and expect to merrily go on and on and on and on and on, and not realize they went the wrong way.
Ive walked across most of australia. didnt get lost.
ive walked over large parts of america-didnt get lost.
simple map/compass/skills and knowledge kept that from happeneing to me . .
her precautions? like not takiNg extra gas–”SHE WONT DO THAT!’
A MAP? OF THE NP? SHE DIDNT DO THAT EITHER.
LOTS OF WATER AND FOOD? nope!
KEEP GOING THE WRONG WAY? OH YEAH THATS REAL SMART!
YES, HER STORY IS A GREAT LEARNING TOOL-OF WHAT NOT TO DO!
NOTHING SHE DID SAVED HER/THEIR LIVES.
A FEW PHONE CALLS BY OTHERS DID….
BREAKING INTO A CABIN THAT WAS WELL STOCKED WITH FOOD AND WATER[some one else was sure prepared werent they?]
is what saved her/their lives.
SO WHERE IN ALL OF THAT IS ANY INDICATION OF BEING PREPARED?
TRAIPSING ALL OVER CREATION sure didnt save her life.
her whole misadventure is one mistake after another…
expecting a cell phone to help her?
expecting a gps to help her?
see what happened ???
in order to prevent this from happening to any one else- gasp!- choke!!
lets pave the whole park! put up macdonalds and burger kings and cell phone towers every mile on every road! and big barrels of water-ICE COLD! FOR THOSE HAPPLESS NIMRODS / .
put sign posts everywhere[ of course that means you need to know how to read and understand english!]
and every sign will state >>YOU ARE HERE<<
SEE? THEN YOULL NEVER BE LOST AGAIN!
no i don't make mistakes when going into the wilderness because simple mistakes can GET YOU KILLED OR DEAD.
we see that happeneing all the time. SO LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES, DONT DEFEND THEM..
It must be so wonderful to be perfect Johnny. Would you have felt better had they made mistakes and died out there? You probably would be saying it serves them right! Do you honestly think that your ridicule is teaching them anything other than the fact that there are people like you who always point the finger of blame. I am certain that in a situation like that Donna will do some things differently. But how does tearing a person apart make things better. To be honest, it only makes you look like a heartless jerk!!!!