Two Women Walk 36 Hours After Their Motorhome Wrecks Deep in the Mendocino National Forest
In the deep dark of the early morning of August 7, 2021, three Lewiston residents were traversing the sketchy roads of the Mendocino National Forest. Forty miles east of Covelo, nearing the Tehema County line, California Highway Patrol’s Officer Rick Fowler said the adventure took an unexpected turn when the motorhome went off the roadway, down an embankment, colliding with multiple trees as it descended.
Officer Fowler said the crash left 51-year-old David Flowers injured, unable to walk from the crash site. So, in hopes of finding someone to help, 57-year-old Stephanie Swain and 39-year-old Nichole Ferguson, took off into the Mendocino National Forest on foot.
Between the early morning of August 7 to noontime of August 10, Swain and Ferguson negotiated the terrain of the Mendocino National Forest finally being spotted by a male passerby around 11:10 a.m. on August 10.
It is difficult to assess just how far Swain and Ferguson walked during their time in the woods. Officer Fowler could not identify the exact location where they were located except describing them as being found on Forest Route 1N02 which converges with one of the major thoroughfares through the Mendocino National Forest, the M1. Officer Fowler identified the crash site approximately one mile from Hammerhorn Lake.
Using the crude tool of Google Maps to derive an estimate of how far the pair would have traveled to be located, the closest occurrence of Forest Route 1N02 to Hammerhorn Lake is 3.8 miles. It should be noted the location identified by Google Maps has not been identified by officials as the place where Ferguson and Swain were located, merely an approximation.
Initial reports indicated the woman had no idea where they came from and could not identify where the motorhome they had walked from had crashed. Officer Fowler said medical helicopters were called to the scene and the wrecked motorhome was actually located from above.
When emergency personnel arrived at the motorhome both Flowers and a dog were located. Officer Fowler said that Flowers was medevacked to Willits’s Howard Memorial Hospital due to cuts and bruises and pain in the back and chest. Ferguson and Swain were transported by ground and treated for minor injuries.
This reporter attempted to contact all three of the individuals described in this report to get a first hand account of their odyssey. If any reader has connections to this trio of rugged individuals, please, reach out.
Officer Fowler, reflecting on the incident, said the tale highlights the importance of precaution and preparation “anytime you decide to go off the beaten path.” The brave and bold that choose the rural routes must be prepared with water, food, first aid, and equipment to be “self-contained,” as Officer Fowler described it. In a world of amenities, Officer Fowler said, “We can forget to prepare.”
Please note: an earlier version of the story mis-stated the minimum miles the women walked.
Join the discussion! For rules visit: https://kymkemp.com/commenting-rules
Comments system how-to: https://wpdiscuz.com/community/postid/10599/
… and always let someone who is not going know your plans…
Rugged individuals? Not in my book. Lost and confused. I would not want to rely on them for rescue. Glad it did not turn out worse. Be prepared when traveling is outback.
I’m glad they negotiated with the forest. Could have been a lot worse if they hadn’t talked down mother nature!
You do not ” talk down” Mother Nature any more than you can ” conquer the ocean”.
They did not know where they were?
Were they not driving on a road? Why would they wander off in the forest instead of just getting back to the road to seek help?
Not too bright, especially leaving the man behind with no location marked. No skills at all in this crew.
Could be they were seeking a more direct rout shortcut the road would have been winding.
“Their motorhome wrecks…”
“when the motorhome went off the roadway”
The grammar here makes it seem as if there was no driver and the motorhome was making the decisions itself.
On a separate note, who takes a motorhome to that spot unless they know what to expect and are prepared for it?
Bet the man was driving. Sounds like they didn’t want him found.
I know strange things can happen but driving a sketchy road in the dark rather than pulling over and waiting for morning when you’re in a motor home seems the strangest
All of above, but the final strangenesses are wandering through the forest instead of following the road they fell off of, and taking 36 hours to walk 4 miles.
easy to lose sense of direction when you can’t see past trees and shrubs and end up going around in circles. End up disoriented. But it all does beg the question why not return to the road. Likely is various states of shock.
Now if mushrooms were involved,bid believe part of the story.
Hey Now! That explains everything!! Otherwise it is a sketchy af story…
Even without a cell signal or internet you can pinpoint your location on google maps if you have a cellphone.
Open google maps and select “make available offline.
Uncheck Google Location Services in settings, and select and the select Use GPS without internet
In settings enable GPS EPO, GPS satellites, and A-GPS. Tap on My Location, and you’re done.
That’s for android, don’t know about Apple.
No shit. I mean, WTFF?
I broke down on M-3 the evening before Memorial Day this year. Fortunately I know the roads pretty good and was able to walk out to F-7 and head towards Covelo until I was able to call out the next morning. 12 hours with maybe a couple hours of shut eye, 25 miles.
maybe they were in shock.
Everyone is blaming the two people that walked to get help, which they did! How about a comment on something positive like get the man to the hospital. Know-it-alls are usually are dirt dumb!!
Because we’re a nation of victors. Our ancestors walked from the shores of the Atlantic to the shores of the pacific and knew exactly where they were every step of the way.
We don’t glorify incompetence and victimhood.
Stand and deliver or lay down while the spoils are taken by the brave and strong.
God help this nation that has become such a bunch of slackers.
My father had three Cessnas sequentially back in the late 40s 50s and early 60s; they said a new (to him) plane for each child (47, 53, 56).
The end of his flying was when he was flying from Orleans to Buchanan Field in Concord to join the rest of our immediate family for Christmas.
This is where east of Covelo enters the story. There was mechanical problems and he landed on a road east of Covelo so he did not arrive as scheduled at Buchanan Field to great worry as he could not be contacted. Someone picked him up and he made contact the next day but that was the end of his time as a pilot. The former airport in Orleans is now Karuk Tribal Housing.
Your story makes no sense.
Neither does the story presented above…
We were following dirt roads across the Mendocino National forest from I5 aiming for 101, it was late fall, weather was fine. We decided to camp somewhere out there. Went to sleep and when we woke up, nearly 2 feet of snow had fallen. We were stuck without even trying to move. We headed out on foot, it was all down hill so we walked out of the snow before too long, we finally reached civilization 12 hours and 18 miles later. Fortunately we got a ride about 1/2 mile from town, 17 1/2 miles from our starting point. Cold and hungry, there was a diner open, we ate and then we waited hours for a ride home. We were not able to recover the van for 3 months. It was completely unmolested, a jump start and we drove it home.
Black Butte, near the top of the pass is nearly 7,000 ft!
And was the dog medevacked too?
Definitely need to hear an update on the canine!
I have my lil max and I was able to recover my daughter’s cat Velvet thank you ?
Not knowing where you are going or where you are is most stupid. Regardless of what mystics say. Duh. Being unprepared for such journey, most lame.
Yo raisin rum, some of the most fun I had was not knowing where I was or where I was going. Being prepared is key though.. and using common sense.
Over 5 years ago, at 53, I spent 4 days lost in the Mendocino National Forest, with just a few small peppermint type hard candies. I drank a lot of creek water as much as I could hold, no hands style.
Some spring water too. The second day I was able to find service and call 911.
I was so lost they must have thought it was a crank call.
Water, I knew how to find it and knew better than to pass it up. Not being a great survivalist, I ate a lot of watercress, every bit that I found, that’s it for four days.
Couple of motorcycle riders from Ukiah saved my life. Cody, on a nice 250, or 350 Enduro of some kind, I can’t recall, gave me a bag of jerky, and man, it
was it ever good. And his riding partner, Tom Thurman, on a YZ 125 gave me a great, white knuckler ride out, I only almost fell off once,?, must have been 15or20 miles, to the South Cow Mountain Wilderness OHV staging area, where they let me use there phone to recall 911 and the sheriff came and gave me a ride to the hospital, I was pretty tore up from all the brush and everything. They gave me a blood test and told me the results showed that my body had been consuming itself. Yuck. I better skip the hospital food joke. They treated me pretty damn good, too.
I’d sure like to thank Cody, and Tom, they saved my life that day, I don’t know how I would have made it without them, and I may not have.
The OHV staging area is still a long, long way from civilization. Thanks to the Mendocino sheriff’s as well. That was the best ride in the back of a sheriff’s rig ever. Not one question.
And the radio was going. Really, The way I remember it he had a little music going. Pretty cool. Those guys are OK by me. They saved me, too.
A memorable experience, not one to forget easy. Sure was nice staying at the Baechtel Creek Inn for a night after all that. That’s a nice place. From one extreme to the other. A Ukiah Taxi from the hospital in there somewhere, and his timing was absolutely perfect. I felt like a king.
From lost and starving, deep in a wilderness area, to the red carpet treatment, in about two hours, Thanks be to God,our Heavenly Father, and the Holy Mother, and to all the right folks. Can’t ask for more than that. Amen.
And I’m not even all that religious.
But I’m a believer. That’s for sure.
You weren’t lost in the MNF if they gave you a ride to the South Cow Mtn OHV staging area.
There are no mtn roads that connect them and you would’ve crossed Hwy20 and gone thru Ukiah, Lakeport, or Blue Lakes to get anywhere near to Cow Mtn.
Sounds like you were lost out Cow Mtn or another BLM section south of there or on private property.
??Your right, it was BLM, like I said, I was lost.?
Over six years ago.
After the fact on Google I tried to find where I had gotten lost.
That’s how I ended up thinking I was on MNF. But just as you said, It didn’t make sense because it the area I was looking at was on the wrong side of 20.
You see I started on 101 picked up a rider southbound in Willits, older guy, in a wheelchair. Fox terrier. Guy is pushing 75 by now. He dosed me. We turned west towards a casino around 20 where he was going for breakfast, I missed the casino turn, he said it was alright keep going he had a cabin up the road… I’m probably lucky I’m alive.
When, we got to the top of the mountain, We stopped. He said we were there. No cabin. Nothing.
I just got out and started walking.
I know his name now,and he’s a registrant.
Thanks for the input. It clears things up a little, most of it was just a blur after whatever he dosed me with.
Pretty sure it was crystal meth.
He mentioned it.
I didn’t want any part of that, but it was too late.
Perhaps they had head injuries which is very possible. Why is everyone so quick to judge these days.? Have you ever been in an accident at night? Jeez! Lighten up already!After all, they are just girls right? ( sarcasm) Im glad it all worked out
…what happened to the dog?
Another story with more details tomorrow. (I don’t know though. I have a reporter working on it.)
The dog was taken to the ukiah animal control. Old pomeranian, Maxwell. Owner, Ms. Swain, it trying to get him back now.
what happened to dog?
Call a chick brain damaged is about the lowest blow I’ve heard.
You read the article?
There was a vehicular accident. Head injuries are a common feature of those…especially when a rig goes off a mountain road.
NW, you are the only one that mentioned brain damage anywhere on the page.
Maybe some focus on reading comprehension instead of preconceived notions would help to grasp the article and comments.
Could be they were seeking a more direct rout shortcut the road would have been winding therefore longer…also their friend was injured so they didn’t likely want to wait. Some readers so quick to judge..take a few extra minutes to put yourself in their shoes and read twice. Also perhaps mushrooms involved! lOL
There is also the possibility that they were concerned about who and what they might encounter along the road. Not every vehicle that rolls up on two females in the middle of nowhere is gonna contain people with good intentions.