Trapped Family Wrote Message In A Bottle To Call For Help

In a real-life situation, trying to send a message in a bottle is an extreme long shot as it’s not very likely that the bottle will be found in time by someone who can help. That’s why these messages are more the stuff of movies instead of real life, but for Curtis Whitson and his family a message in a bottle actually ended up saving his family’s lives when they found themselves trapped on top of a terrifyingly dangerous 40 ft waterfall. But it wasn’t as simple as that.

Meet Curtis and his family

Curtis Whitson loved working with his hands and takes every chance he gets to go hiking in the wilderness, making sure to complete at least 20 trips a year.

For Curtis, hiking is also a great activity that he and his 14-year-old son Hunter can bond over. The family loved to plan hiking trips where they can camp under the stars, but they never expected that a trip that they had been looking forward to would end up like this.

The perfect family trip

Because of this shared love of hiking and the great outdoors, when Father’s Day approached Krystal thought it would be a great time for them all to celebrate with a family hiking trip over the Father’s Day weekend. The boys agreed and the trio began planning their perfect trip.

They decided that a float trip along the Arroyo Secco River would be perfect as they could spend their days floating along the river and hopping over boulders and then set up camp along the riverbank at night. They got their swimming tubes filled and planned the route down the river.

Planning the route

The four-day trip would follow the route of the river as it meandered down towards a beautiful waterfall. From there they planned to repel down the waterfall face and meet up with friends downstream. Hunter and Curtis would have no trouble repelling down the 40-foot waterfall face, and it wasn’t too far for Krystal to handle.

Besides the waterfall, there were no other impediments and they would be able to float carefree down the river. On the final day, they would float the final miles until they reached the Arroyo Secco campground and picnic spot. It was all a pretty easy trip and Curtis didn’t expect any setbacks, but just as he does for all his hikes, Curtis made sure to pack all the supplies he might need.

Curtis’s experience

Curtis had taken this trip years earlier and he knew the terrain. There were no rapids and plenty of room on the riverbanks for camping. Having been there before Curtis knew that close to the waterfall, an area known to the locals as ‘The Narrows’, the river enters a narrow canyon with walls of rock on each side and that the group would have to enter the water and swim to the rock near the waterfall.

But they were all good swimmers and Curtis didn’t remember the water being too fast or deep. Given his previous experience, Curtis was sure this trip would offer very few surprises.

The start of the journey

When the Father’s Day weekend finally arrived, the trio was ready and packed and set off on their big adventure. The first 2 days of their float trip were great. The water was calm and cool, and the view of the surrounding landscape was beautiful. At night they would all eat a meal together and then lie back and look up at the bright stars of the night sky.

All of them were having a great trip, and for Curtis, it was shaping up to be one of the best Father’s Day presents ever with plenty of family time.

Setting off for the waterfall

On the third day, they began the long float down to the waterfall but as they entered the narrow part of the river just before the falls Curtis began to get a horrible sense that something wasn’t quite right. As they got to ‘The Narrows’ the water was extremely deep with a strong current that pulled them towards the waterfall.

For Curtis, there was far more water than he remembered, and the conditions were quickly becoming more and more dangerous.

Danger on the horizon

Most of the riverbanks in the narrow corridor had been flooded and the water went straight up to the granite walls. The rocks near the waterfall were covered by water, with some sharper rocks jutting out dangerously.

Only a small speck of riverbank was left unflooded. The family realized that if they continued to float towards the waterfall, they would not be able to escape the advancing current, and Curtis had to think quickly before his family went over the edge.

The missing rope

Curtis managed to help Krystal and Hunter towards the small area of an exposed bank just before they were caught in the current. Once the trio had made it safely to the dry land they looked on in horror as they realized they were surrounded by water and tall rock walls.

 
Curtis panicked when he noticed that the rope, he had used to climb down the waterfall 7 years prior was now nowhere to be seen. With no rope to help them climb down the slick rock walls, there was no safe way to climb down the waterfall.

Curtis’s heart sank

Still hopeful that there was a way to get down, Curtis remembered that he had packed an emergency rope. Unfortunately, Curtis couldn’t see anything that he could attach the rope to, and the water was flowing too violently. Later Curtis reflected on the situation and said, “My heart sank when I realized the volume of water was just too dangerous to make rappelling down possible,”. There was no cell service, so Curtis desperately needed a plan.

Leaving Krystal on the dry bank, Hunter and Curtis tried to find a route back up the river.

Looking for a way back up the river

Not long after they had set off to find a route back up the river Curtis and Hunter returned unsuccessfully. The current was just far too strong and any path along the bank was cut off by water or rocks.

 
The only way back upriver was to swim against the current and there was no chance that they would be able to do it long enough to make it out of “the Narrows”.

Hearing voices

But the fates had smiled on Curtis and his family because when he and Hunter returned to the bank Krystal had some good news. While she had been waiting for the boys to get back, she had heard people on the other side of the canyon walls and if she could hear them then maybe they could hear the trio call for help.

Curtis couldn’t see anyone past the bend in the rock wall but Krystal insisted that she could hear people down below.

Yelling for help

All three of them now listened quietly. Sure enough, they could hear someone beyond the rocks and below the waterfall. They must have been downstream from them and if they could just alert them to their presence, they could get help and get back to the river.

Krystal and Hunter screamed desperately for help but got no reply, meanwhile, Curtis searched desperately for something to fling over the high rocks that encircled the waterfall.

Trying to send a message

Eventually, Curtis found a stick big enough and with his pocketknife, he carved “We Need Help” into the bark. With all his might he threw the stick at the narrow gap between the rocks and above the waterfall. As the stick flew through the air Hunter turned to Curtis and asked ‘do you think they will see it?”.

However, that didn’t matter anymore because the stick missed the gap and ended up bobbing in the water against the rockface.

Sending a message in a bottle

As they listened the voices in the distance started to disappear. Desperately Curtis looked for something else to throw down the river. It was the last chance they would have to get out a message for help. Curtis grabbed his trusty neon green water bottle and carved the words ‘Help’ on the side of the plastic bottle.

Using the paper and pen they had brought along with them Curtis who scribbled a short message that read “WE ARE STUCK HERE @ THE WATERFALL GET HELP PLEASE.” . He then folded it up and put it inside the bottle. As they all held their breath, he threw the bottle trying his best not to miss.

A long shot

To their amazement, the bottle cleared the rocks and made it through the narrow slit of the waterfall. Hopefully, the people they had heard downstream would find the bottle and be able to find help, but the family had no idea how long that would take. Having eaten most of their food, they only had enough rations to last a day.

Curtis knew that the bottle was a long shot and it was very unlikely that anyone would find it in time, but he tried his best to comfort Krystal and Curtis as the sun began to set.

Sending out an SOS

If their message in a bottle was found, they figured they would need a way to help rescuers find them. With a salvaged piece of blue tarp serving as the backdrop, they arranged river pebbles into an SOS sign in the hopes that it would be visible from the sky. When night fell, they used their last headlamp to illuminate the sign.

Curtis then told his family that they had done everything they could do and that all they could do then was wait for help.

Running out of time

Even though Curtis had told friends their route and they were expected the next day, he was still worried that if there was any rescue, it would come too late. After all, if the water level had risen this high, there was no way of knowing if it would continue to rise in the coming hours.

Despite these fears, the family eventually managed to fall asleep.

Help arrives

As the family slept that night, they were awoken around midnight by the distant sound of a chopper. To their relief, it wasn’t long until they were being illuminated by the choppers’ searchlight. Over the loudspeaker, they heard the voice say “This is Search and Rescue. You have been found,” someone said over the loudspeaker.

The family was told to stay put and stay warm and that the rescue team would return at first light. When the family heard this, they jumped up in relief and began hugging each other. They were going to be rescued and the whole ordeal was finally over.

Rescue efforts begin

At first light, the chopper and crew returned, and they were able to lower a rescue cage down to the family. Once in the safety of the rescue cage Curtis looked down at the raging waters below him and the small piece of the bank that they had camped on. From high above he could see the real danger he and his family had been in.

It had been a miracle that the bottle had been found and the family was incredibly thankful and happy to see their rescuers.

Surprise of the rescuers

The pilot and his crew were also happy to see the family because when the emergency call was placed it was mentioned that they were looking for people who had left a message in a bottle. The crew were not really expecting to find anyone and thought that it might have been a hoax. When they had found the family the night before they were surprised but very relieved.

Later when asked about it, pilot Joe Kingman remarked “In my 23 years of rescuing people it is the first time I have ever heard of rescue because of a message in a bottle. A lot of pieces fell into place just right for these folks so that they could be rescued. The story could have gone very differently if that bottle hadn’t been found”

Mystery heroes

It was decided that it would be best to drop the family off at the campgrounds that were located downstream from the waterfall. They were so grateful for the speedy rescue and Curtis just didn’t know what they would have done without the help.

The rescue crew was unable to tell Curtis and his family who had called in for help, and for a short while it seemed that they would never know who their heroes were.

How their message was found

It wasn’t until later that the family heard the story of how the message in a bottle had been found. Miraculously, about 2 miles downstream from the campground two hikers had spotted the bright green bottle bobbing in the water and read the note inside. They immediately decided to hike all the way back up to the campground where they could call the police for help.

They knew that time was of the essence so they hiked as quickly as they could. After alerting the campground manager they disappeared into the night as quickly as they arrived.

A happy ending

To this day Curtis and his family don’t know who the strangers who found their message for help actually were. Even after many media appeals, no one has come forward. While the family trip had ended badly, it had served a purpose, the family had become closer and Krystal and Curtis had further cemented their relationship.

A few weeks after their miraculous rescue, Krystal handed Curtis a brand-new water bottle. In it was a note asking Curtis to marry her. Today, the trio still hike and camp beneath the stars as a loving family