[UPDATE 10:35 a.m.] Two Young Girls Lost in the Woods Overnight in Southern Humboldt While Their Family Worries
Searchers are gathering today to look for Leia and Caroline Rose Carrico. [Photos provided by family]
The two girls, Caroline Rose age five and Leia age eight went missing yesterday around 2:30 p.m. Family and neighbors looked for the two young girls until late afternoon then law enforcement took over with trained searchers.
Heavy rain fell last night in Southern Humboldt County adding to concerns for the two sisters. Caroline is and Leia (Princess Leia, she will correct you if you pronounce her name wrong) were last seen near their home on Twin Trees Road south of Benbow.
The oldest was last seen wearing purple rain boots and gray long sleeved shirt with a hood. The youngest was last seen wearing a maroon colored rain jacket with white horses on it as well as blue jeans and pink rain boots.
We have a reporter on the way to the searchers and we’ll be updating from the scene throughout the day.
UPDATE 9:43 a.m.: The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office just sent out a plea for people to stay away from the search area. They tweeted, “Several trained search crews are on scene. Please stay clear of the search area unless given permission by HCSO deputies.”
UPDATE 10:35 a.m.: A helicopter has joined the search according to multiple people in the area.
UPDATE: Sheriff’s Department Releases More on the Missing Girls in Humboldt County
and Hugs and Kisses (Leia and Caroline Carrico Back Home With Mom and Dad)
Earlier Chapter: Ongoing Search and Rescue for Two Young Girls in the Twin Trees Area of Southern Humboldt
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I can’t wait to read the story about the adventure these two girls had and what it took for them to survive the night. Stay strong little girls!!
Do the searchers need an extra vehicle or someone to help with the efforts? I would be willing to drive down and help.
Does anyone know why 24 hours into this there has not been a multiple statewide Amber Alert. Is there a reason?.. Heaven forbid but this needs to be broadcast. I dont know why it wasnt last night just on the slightest, slimest, meagerest possibility these precious young angels didn’t just walk away…
Anyone??
Kym?..
The Amber Alert system requires a description of a kidnapper and/or the vehicle they are believed to be driving. Since they don’t even know at this point if the girls were kidnapped they can’t issue an Amber Alert.
Check this out: https://www.amberalert.gov/faqs.htm#faq6
There isn’t enough to determine that they were abducted. I will admit I suspect it, but we do not k ow for sure.
I hope these babies are found in the next few minutes and I believe this will happen. Please. Please. I am affirming this with hope and good intentions.
Now why are there such strict Amber Alert rules?!! I mean if a kid is missing…it’s missing…who cares if it was not really missing but just lost in the woods for a few hours? Better than she/him, be abducted and bc we have only 2 out 3 variables to describe(what the child looks like and where last seen)
research who is VP of we aren’t allowed to get a jump on getting the child’s picture out here and the public aware in the first,few hrs bc THATS WHEN ABDUCTED KIDS FATES ARE SEALE.D
IM SORRY TO BE SO BLUNT BUT I CAN HELP NOT FEELING LIKE A VOICE FOR ALL MISSING OR LOST HUMANS ….I GREW UP IN THE SYSTEM IN MISSISSIPPI…AND I GOT LUCKY ANS DIDNT FALL THRU THE CRACKS.,
SORRY I RAMBLED ON.
AMBER ALERTS QUALIFING GUILDLINES NEED TO BE RE EVALUATED,AND OVER HAULED
Smart Sense (the Nationwide Amber Alert system) …and see what she was charged with and incarcerated in Haiti for!!!. The charges get reduced and she changes her last name bc she got “married” and they give her this job?!?!?!?
It will blow,your mind….
I just heard last week that Amber alerts are for children who have been abducted
I hava heard on TV…German Channel they have been found save and sound….
A story with a happy end….I feel so happy to hear this….It might have been a tragedy…but it will remain as just a tale….as they have been reunited with their family.
Kym, do you know if HCSO needs/will accept any civilian assistance in search?
Right now trained searchers are what they want but as soon as that changes, I will post.
Someone needs to put the aspect out of a amber alert, most 6 and 8 yr olds wont wander that far from the house. People need to be asked about suspicious vehicles in the area. I dont believe they are lost so far they couldn’t here mom calling or be in sight.
My two-year-old once tried to walk from his Grandpa’s to our house–about a mile and got most of the way before we found him (Not one of my husband’s or his older brothers finest babysitting moments). These are hill girls used to the country. They could have gone farther than most of us imagine.
This is what I thought when I heard about the girls. Why not an Amber Alert! So sad, hope they are found safe very soon.
My heart goes out for those little girls and their parents
Oh no, please keep us updated… Hope the girls found safe. My heart goes out to the parents.
So hoping they are soon found safe.
Please get tracking dogs on this. It’s crazy that the HCSO has an armored truck but not a tracking dog.
They have attack dogs to maul suspected criminals, literally like the Nazis, but not scent hounds to help find missing people or track suspects without savaging them.
Also all dogs trained to alert to the presence of cannabis or cash should be retired. Both things are legal and should not be grounds for search.
Having an innocent dog take on your dangerous job for you is cowardly bullshit.
You have no idea whay you are talking about. My husband and I have trained with the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Posse Search and Rescue. All personnel are highly trained all year long every year and must be recertified annually. There are a mumber of dogs trained specifically to find lost victims. The Sheriff’s Posse also jas a mounted unit with horses specifically trained and certified annually for search and rescue. These posse members are volunteers. But they know what they are doing. So please let them do their job without hot-headed interference from the locals. They no how to protect and preserve evidence.
👍👍
It also rained pretty heavy which can deter the scent. I have no doubt they are doing EVERYTHING they can to find them. An amber alert is not a bad idea just to air on the side of caution. I cant imagine what the parents and the little girls are going through. Please find them safe!
Amen to that. Search and rescue animals are trained to find not attack. Praying for safe return.
The dogs are not bullshit ! They can find the scent!
Let’s see, attack dogs, nazis, cannabis….yup, way too many anti-cop political troll words. Access denied.
I heard they are looking for an infrared drone, if anyone has one please reach out
So hoping these young ladies are found soon & well!!! So sad to read, they are still not found, this morning!!!
Do they need volunteers for the search today?
So far they are looking for trained searchers. But if that changes, I will put the call out.
~by all means let the locals who have horses and those who will go and scour every inch of the land and KNOW the area like the back of their hands, wait for permission from their masters.
This waiting for permission is obviously categorically ridiculous, short-sighted and mean.
From Ernie’s Place: Stand Back Non-Believers . .
Then they headed back home, just as they were about to leave town the Civil Defence people told them that they were not going anywhere, and and that they were sorry, but they were going to have to take the Jeep for the rescue effort. My bosses friend reached between the front seats, pulled out a 30-30 rifle, cocked it, set the stock on his hip with the barrel in the air, and said. “You’d better move, we’re going home”.
I was just telling my wife the locals will only wait so long before they posse up.
~oh thank God. Just what i need to hear. Thank you Perspective. I’m well armed, willing and capable of hiking thru the muck and the mire, disqualified Hinrichs and Reinholtsen in verbal take-downs. “I do not have jurisdiction” said the employee to their employer. Sweet.
Violence is a last resort, but that does mean it’s on the list.
You do realize they have it organized and they don’t want any distractions from the dogs and resources they are bringing in. How awful would it be if a dog’s distracted by some random local trying to help when the dog should have been following one of the little girls. Stop acting like you know more than the experts is ridiculous and sad, we live in a world full of people that think they’re experts and every single topic and it is just ruining the freaking planet. Open your ears listen to The experts stop acting like a know-it-all.
~referencing the comments, i do believe you’re on the short-end of the stick J.
Was this reply to me, @J?? Read my comment again. LOL!
I imagine having people put tracks down in an unorganized fashion would make picking up the girls tracks much more difficult.
for you to assume that the commenters here are untrained or are not experts in verious fields is suprisingly short sighted. you do not have a clue what most fommenters are experts in or quailfied for. and i can openly state that i personally have over 3 thousand hours active searching hours. and reguardless of the dogs nothing beats eyes and ears on the ground. send the dogs out ahead and the rest behind leave no stone unturned .
~thank you Antichrist.
“A Foolish Faith In Authority Is The Worst Enemy Of The Truth”. –Albert Einstein
Yes we locals need to be patient and hopefully these two young ladies are found soon but once they expand (I hope they do not need to) I will be there. Blessings to the family and searchers.
I wish they’d let the locals that know the area help search. When this happened several years ago in Brookings, it was a local hunter that found the little girl. I’m praying these babies are found safe!
They are apart of the search teams and have been. Tracking dog teams are used first to try and narrow down a direction.
I just question why the authorities are content with a small handful of searchers when there could be a hundred or more including quads and horses. But what do I know?
because it ruins any tracks they leave and the dogs cannot pick up their scent if many people are in there. ( I am ex search and rescue)
I would assume they are treating it as a potential crime scene? Or have a method the search crews will go through before inviting general public?
If you know anyone on so hum tech search&rescue/hcso personally get in touch with them&ask.
They have to make sure folks are able to follow their guidance and protocol&are ok characters. Im not sure how talking about going out with guns&saying sometimes theres a need for violence is helpful here, kinda sounds like what they dont want out there.
Im not a huge fan of hcso by any means but i trust mylife literally to so hum search&rescue. If they are asking public to wait then wait. Perhaps if kyms in touch with diana she can let us know why.
We cannot let our hearts get in the way of proper protocol. No doubt we will be there when needed.
just like the officials in oso washington after the huge land slide that wiped entire town away. the locals refused to stay clear for the officials to decide if it was safe or not loaded up their dosers their cats their trucks and excavators built roads and hauled surivors to safety in front of the reporters and officials claiming it was to dangerous to send in help.
Antichrist,
~do you mean that just singing Kumbaya ain’t gonna work?
Washington state, further north. More rugged. Must be a big difference in how far we can be pushed, here, and there -in Washington. Between Paradise Lost and here?
Because a hundred or more including quads and horses would foul and destroy any trail. Easy to understand why everyone wants to do something, best to only do things that can actually help. Maybe organize hot food for the searchers or the family.
With a co-ordinator working all the teams, The pro’s can have their preferred grid and let the 100k helpers grid out the rest of it. The choppers can fly above the canopy, while thermal drones (and regular video drones) can fly the grids below the canopy.
Working together in super sonic speed just might help those precious children to come home sooner.
Daylight’s a wasting.
RIDICULOUS they need 100k people on the ground looking!
Everyone needs to check criminal release records of people in your area OMG I pray those girls are found safe please Lord bring those two little girls home with no harm done to them
Amber Alert Now! Are the helicopters calling out directions for the girls while they are searching? I love and respect Humbolt but there are weirdos everywhere. Please, broadcast an Amber Alert! These girls do not possess enough body heat to keep each other warm either.
I asked they said only law enforcement and search and rescue…
THey likely don’t want everyone & their dog, literally out clogging up the woods around the search area!!! That’s only my $.02 worth, YMMV!!!!
Sending prayers that the girls are found safe and soon.
Involved late last night. Only wishing nothing but a positive outcome for family. Thank you kym, I will monitoring your page until they are found!
Praying for these two little ones.
Pretty sure you could have hundreds of locals be there now. Just say the word could barely sleep last night Was first thing I thought of this morning. Please god let them be ok
Do you you get to twin tress from Sprowel Creek or?
Twin trees rd is south of benbow where the highway goes from 4 lanes to 2 just as you cross the south end of the highway bridge
Big prayers for these two little ones to be found safe and sound really soon. ❤️
Are they accepting volunteers??
I feel it would be crazy at this point for them not to accept volunteers. I sure hope so!! I bet there is an army of parents ready to help along with locals.❤🙏
Doesn’t CHP have infrared search equipment? I remember reading that they do. This should have been the first thing…..
I say get the locals out there searching too! Praying for these girls! Hope they are found soon.❤🙏
I was certain that this morning I was going to read they were found safe. This is very distressing!
what the hell why aren’t they letting locals help all-hands-on-deck find these little girls sitting in garb right now be there in 2 minutes I have a little I have little ones as well it breaks my heart
Please let’s not make this a political issue! I can understand, on the one hand, people’s frustration at not being able to use their local knowledge and skill to help; and on the other, an ego-driven desire to be a big tough hero and save the day while government lackeys fumble — but let’s consider the feelings of the family first. If you know this family, ask them what you can do to help, and stand by.
“Please let’s not make this a political issue! ”
~what planet are you from?
Yeah, we’re sitting around waiting to be named as ego-driven big tough heroes. Pfft!
If we want something we’ve never had, we’re going to have to do something we’ve never done.
My prayers 🙏 my husband and a group of fry are hunters they use to the hills they can come and help please let me know please message me if we can do anything
Hasn’t anyone thought that maybe they want trained search crews and law enforcement in case they may have been abducted? Too many people could ruin any leads or evidence that could find the girls.
Amber Alert, then! This is serious an Amber Alert should have been issued immediately!
If too many are out looking they could erase any sign left by the children. Fewer trackers the better in this case. OMG, I hope they are found safe!
” Fewer trackers the better in this case.”
B.S.
What training do you have in actual search and rescue ops?
Have you been trained in how to delineate and walk transects that can be mapped for people to follow?
Have you worked within a group with the understanding you all need to follow a method and work together utilizing a method you may think is dumb but has been proven to work?
Are you trained in backwoods first aid and would you be able to help someone severely injured when found?
Im personally tired of you interjecting your anger here, i wouldnt want you helping just by your attitude. Write an opinion piece for kyms opinion section, id be glad to read it,i get the freedom ideas youre talking about. Just pls stop hijacking this comment section because even tho youre not meaning to youre making it about you when the focus needs to stay on the girls&family.
” i wouldnt want you helping just by your attitude. ”
Me too you, Home safe please!
Don’t care for what i say? Ask me if i care.
yes to all also can shoot a back azmuth walk a pace count and land nav at night. advanced firdt aid . combat life saver cert. air assult tab and yes i still think that there should be locals out there. I am betting many of the growers around there know the land and the hiding places better than most leo and could offer real help. but hey. you know best lead on boss……
Amber Alert!
You are correct. Too many people would trample any existing tracks that the trained trackers could use to find them. I know it’s frustrating, but we have to let them do their job. Tracking can be a relatively slow process, but is accurate. We just need to let these people do what they have trained for.
Amber Alert!
That is what I understand has been happening. So many footprints have destroyed what trail was there.
I too feel the desperate urge to help & understand that what the parents & family of the girls wants must come first.
I hope they are searching with drones as well as dogs. 🙏
It seems they would have had the helicopter with infrared up last night rather than waiting until late this morning.
As Dolly Watson would say “wrap them in pink light” everyone please! It has worked for me to find lost elders ,stolen, luggage, dog’s and many more things . We love these little ladies. I know princess Leia since pre school. She always inspired me. Sending do much love to the family! I am so sorry for how scary this must feel!
““wrap them in pink light” everyone please!
Yes! Yes! The power of intention.
~this has worked for me too.
Wow! This is as sad as two missing girls. You have been utterly failed by our education system. I guess when we feel powerless we resort to superstitions, just like dumbo and his magic feather.
Oh God please let these little girls be found alive. No letting locals help, maybe they no more than we do and it’s an investigation.
My heart is breaking for the little girls & for their family. I can’t begin to understand how they must be feeling. Sending prayers & positive thoughts that these two little ones are found soon & safe, Wishing I could do more,
Pinkish White Light all around the sweet girls until they are found. Loving hugs & kisses, hot food & warm baths for after they are found today.
WTF? Pinkish white light? From what kind of light source? LED? Incandescent?
~the light source isn’t of the material world.
just so you know, one problem with convergent volunteers is you must take man power away from something else to train, manage and herd convergent volunteers. Taking resources away from something else to manage a bunch of people who are all coming in, well meaning but have no manager or direction to tell them where to go and what to do….takes time. I am sure you can imagine working and having 100 people show up at your job saying “show us what to do and how to do it”….thats why it is always recommended folks train far ahead of time for instances like this, and why this is a reminder to train in your local search and rescue or CERT far ahead of time so you know where to fall in. Maybe the best thing in this situation is showing up with food for the trained volunteers, at the staging areas to help them.
“Is there any Remover of difficulities save God. Say: He is God! Praise be God! All are His servants, and all abide by His bidding! “
I will say this prayer for the 2 precious girls that are missing…May the Creator give strength them and their parents.
To those of you who are (understandably) frustrated by the lack of Law Enforcement desire to have you, I’d like to give you a slightly different perspective:
In the beginning hours of a search, it is not always desirable to have dozens or hundreds of well-meaning but unqualified people on scene. There is a lot of potential evidence to be gathered, and the possibility that there is something entirely different going on, like a relative or stranger abduction. Not saying that is the situation, but the possibility needs to be investigated.
At the beginning, a wise IC will limit personnel in the vicinity of the PLS, while 1 or 2 teams of HIGHLY EXPERIENCED trackers will sign-cut the perimeter. Hundreds of extra prints will do nothing but endanger the lives of the lost at this point.
If you want some interesting info, I highly recommend you read the story about Dennis Martin, preferably in Dwight Carters book. Informative, and tragic. Hundreds of searchers are not always the answer.
Those of you who want to help, there is (perhaps) nothing stopping you from joining SAR or a local Fire Department. But you need to be able to dedicate hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars into equipment and training, and then be ready, willing and able to deploy at a moments notice. If you have multiple felonies, no car, a meth habit, and no money, you probably won’t be too useful.
If you want to have a rescue dog, go for it. But there are multiple kinds, (Cadaver, Air-scent, Ground-scent, ones that pick up any scent, ones that pick up specific scent, and on and on), and they cost thousands of dollars, and again, hundreds of hours of training and recerts. But you can do this, if you want. A good resource is CARDA (California Rescue Dog Association).
If you want an all-weather drone with HD cameras, FLIR, Thermal,Imaging, searchlight, and remote release, go for it as well. You’ll need to start with about 12K, and work closely and cross-train with local agencies.
And then you won’t be a bystander during incidents.
Full disclosure: I am not involved with this incident in any way.
I agree. These trackers have trained for years and know exactly what they are doing. Well meaning volunteers often trample the tracks they need to locate the lost. It’s always best to stay back and let them find the tracks. They use signcutting to locate the tracks, then they follow the evidence. This is exactly what they are trained for, so we need to be patient and let them do it.
I agree. Is this the Tracker Gal herself? You know what you’re talking about.
Kim does.
Yes Kim does and so much more. I have always admired her work with the kids in the community as well. Not to mention helping me find a nice quite swimming hole. Blessings Lady!
What about food for the searchers?? Soup, sandwiches, fruit, water , coffee , hot chocolate, gatoraide. Etc.
tables , chairs, keep the trained searchers fueled up,
A lot of times the auxiliary gets things like this ready and I’m sure cal fire could page out to other fire departments and have something set up pretty fast if it’s not already in place!! I’m sure this is already in place but sometimes these things get forgotten,,
Incident command is where Summer Arts happens, in front of the Benbow Inn. They have over 100 organized , trained volunteers and professionals that they are feeding and coordinating. They have been receiving donations. Hot food & drinks are probably the best way to help now. They can deliver the donations to the family & searchers.
Thanks. I’m on NApa Search n Rescue and some of our members went up today and tomorrow. I couldn’t make it
Horrible horrible thing, I hope these girls are found. In lieu of this though, is anyone else in suspect of the sheriffs piggybacking bad events to get more equipment in which they can violate common rights of privacy? Calfire has infrared imaging on multiple different application as well as coast guard… Last time they needed search and rescue equipment it was mainly used on oppressing local citizens who can’t afford lawyers in the cannabis industry… bearcat, snow cat, dogs etc
Hey Delta, I bet ya there’s a group of 18 year old kids from out in the hills that can track and locate more productively and effectively than a bureaucratic for profit agency
~no doubt. The agencies had to take the time to set-up shop w/all modern day gadgets. A group of 18 year olds don’t need no stinkin bad-ches w/gadgets.
None of the Agencies involved are “For Profit”, and any incident, especially one like this, needs to be closely managed.
If there are highly qualified trackers in your area, that you know of, I strongly encourage them to join a team, and offer their services.
But hundreds of people, wandering wherever they want, whenever they want, is not helpful.
There have been multiple private SAR Teams started all over the world, that are highly respected, like MRA or Rocky Mountain SAR, for example, or our very own Southern Humboldt Tech Rescue.
Kym, do the Southern Humboldt technical rescue group have a place where people can donate? Like an account number at the local bank or something? I’d love to donate to them being able to purchase infrared or any other equipment that would help in these cases.
Go to the Community Credit Union in Southern Humboldt or call. Just ask how to donate and they will help.
Updates
when i was there age i got lost in san francisco,it was really scary but i found a nice cop to help me.get the dogs out!
Everyone who thinks they should help are probably the type to try and defuse a bomb before the bomb squad get there. You will only make finding them harder.
~i would be as far away from the bomb squad as possible -like Guest suggests, the girls are smart, walking in one direction, possibly west – i’d start there and head inland. Spread out and close the circle in.
So do they own a drone or are they trying to barrow one from another agency? Because if they don’t own one I am sure that with in minutes there would be enough money donated to go get one.
Southern humboldt technical rescue is on this. They are the best we could ever hope for. These little girls are so cute but make no mistake about it they are southern humboldt tough. The have a great and loving strong family and their angels are watching over them. prayers are strong at times like this. Come on Technical rescue, and everyone out there helping you, bring those babies home. We’ve got your back any way you want it and any way we can
~i like what you say, Kenny.
Kenny, if they’re as well trained as our crews up here in Appalachia then they will find them. Hard praying for these children and the men and women out searching for them.
I hope and pray they are found safe and as sound as possible. Prayers to their frantic loved ones and rescue teams.
I also pray they’ll get an infrared drone before the next search and rescue mission. All rescue teams should be outfitted with one imo.
No one has mentioned the eel river proximity. Is it possible for them to walk far enough to reach it. Do they have boats searching river areas?
Great question Guest, I hope they’ve covered that in their criteria.
My concern is with the fresh fire pit searchers found. This isn’t something little girls would do and I bet mom knows if they could use matches or a lighter. Was there a person out there on the path the girls took who was “camping” or squatting? I’m saying hard prayers these children are found safe and sound.
Are they using a thermal cam on the helicopter? Leaving food and blankets with a note to stay put near where the wrappers were found…?
Poor babies, praying for their safe return home! This just brakes my heart! Maybe the searchers should put a bag of blankets and a sign with theirs names on it or leading them towards the right direction or some flares or something every mile or so, or even water bottles I could only imagine how tired cold and hungry these babies are aside from being scared.you never know they If there was some kind of sign of an attempt to a fire obviously they are cold.
Dear God!
Please bring these precious babies home safely, and quickly!
Surround them with Angels & ancestors, & all Beings of Light to guide them to SAFETY & to comfort, warm, protect, & preserve them on their way there.
Please God!
Thank you! ❤
Prayer works!
It’s the one thing that ALL of us can do; besides sending energy, Light, & intention, & spreading the word & the information poster to EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE!, it is the one action that most of us are able to take.
I am extremely disturbed to hear that no Amber Alert has been issued (& I generally receive them on my phone)!
Abduction by some weirdo should ALWAYS be assumed to be a very distict possibility!
They have been found alive!!! https://www.yahoo.com/news/frantic-search-ongoing-2-young-california-sisters-175621268.html