Wife of man missing in Botswana hopeful

[OOOOMS]

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/ ... l-20111011" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Johannesburg - The wife of a Lydenburg farmer who went missing in Botswana's Chobe game reserve last month still hopes he will be found, even though the air search for him has been called off, The Star reported on Tuesday.

"I still live in hope because they have not found a single thing of his - not the bottle cap from the water or his watch," said Lorraine Bullen, as police and nature experts continued the search for 80-year-old John Bullen.

The couple were on holiday and had hoped to stay at a camp in Savuti, but when they got there discovered it had closed down. The men they met at the campsite said they should head west for a short cut to the next camp, at Kasane.

"We kept driving and the road deteriorated really badly. We met another group of men and they told us to continue driving straight on the road," she said.

Got stuck

Their Land Rover got stuck in a river bed and so the next day, September 14, Mr Bullen went to get help.

He took an axe, a compass, five litres of water, two tins of fruit and some Provitas, but had not been seen since.

Mrs Bullen survived on small sips of water, soup and Provita biscuits before a group of tourists, also lost, found her, pulled the vehicle out of the sand, and took her to a military base for help.

She told The Star that on the last day she was stranded, she prayed.

"It was getting dark when I said to the Lord: 'If you are going to save me, save me now. But if I must go take me now'.

"The next thing I saw was two Nissan double cab bakkies and I started crying."

She said her husband had "very good stamina for a man his age", but was worried he could not last long in the bush.

[Die$eL]

Eish! Thats a hectic story!

Hope the guy is ok and they find him soon!

[jacques kotze]

Sjoe!! dis maar n slegte ding partykeer om so alleen op afgelee plekke te ry sonder dat iemand weet waar julle heen ry en wanneerr jy by n plek behoort te wees! Hoop maar vir die beste!

[OOOOMS]

Janee, dit is om daai rede dat ek ook 'n paar flare's saamry, just incase

[GI Jane]

It's almost a month since he went missing, surely if he was still okay somebody would have been able to get hold of his family by now. I imaginge it would also be quite difficult to find the items he had with him in that vast environment anyway, or they could have been found by someone else and taken. Tough situation, but a lesson to us.

[george]

Very sad. See the need for a sat phone more and more. Just read the e-zine newsletter and there is a story of a couple that was rescued in the rain Forrest , because they had a sat phone.

[cheetah]

I just hope the old guy is ok, anything can happen to him in the bush, but I pray that soon he will be back with his wife.
COLDEN RULE, NEVER TRAVEL ALONE, WITHOUT A SAT-PHONE.

[OOOOMS]

I just hope the old guy is ok, anything can happen to him in the bush, but I pray that soon he will be back with his wife.
COLDEN RULE, NEVER TRAVEL ALONE, WITHOUT A SAT-PHONE.

We rented a SAT phone some years ago and must add we could not make calls just anywhere, so I am not quite convinced it is always the answer? And very expensive at the time.

I saw a crowd at the Outdoor Show selling units for around R5500.00 last month

Wonder if a tracking device is also an option, like Sky Trax?

[george]

Was also wondering about the reception.

[OOOOMS]

Was also wondering about the reception.

Yeh up in Serra Cafema we could not call at all. However did not bother too much :problem:

[Die$eL]

arent there those satellite tracking devices? with a panic button?

i'm sure that Les guy on discovery channel had something like that when they dropped him in the bush

[OOOOMS]

arent there those satellite tracking devices? with a panic button?

i'm sure that Les guy on discovery channel had something like that when they dropped him in the bush

Yes there are plenty of various devices available, however you do not usually plan to get totally lost before departing on a trip

So I would think most people tend to ignore the fact, or choose to :alvarin:

[george]

arent there those satellite tracking devices? with a panic button?

i'm sure that Les guy on discovery channel had something like that when they dropped him in the bush

I think he was using a Personal Locator Beacon (PLBs)
http://www.sarsat.noaa.gov/emerbcns.html

[Johannes van die See]

Gents
Before you buy a Sat Phone make sure who the service provider is and where the coverage footprint is.
The people selling these things make it sound like the most wonderful thing to have and yes it could be
but if you're planning to use it in a area that is not covered by the service provider it is of no use at all.

I spent the last 5 weeks in Northern Kenya Lake Turkana and had two different Sat phones with two different
service providers.
The Thuria phone and service provider worked 100% but the Iridium was very bad and almost unusable on some days but
worked fairly okay on other days.
In South Africa and some places I work in West Africa we also use Inmarsat phones, I have however also
experienced problems with the Inmarsat communication satellite as we use the same service for differential GPS corrections.

Not saying Sat Phones are bollocks but if you spend the money first make sure that your area of use will be covered by the service provider, these units do not work anywhere in the word as advertised!!!!!

[Die$eL]

any idea on the pricing of those beacon things? would be nice to have one around for just in case...

[george]

any idea on the pricing of those beacon things? would be nice to have one around for just in case...

Nishan I stand to be corrected,but that beacon will only help if the search and rescue units in the area have the equipment to pick up the signal.

[Rebel 4x4]

I just hope the old guy is ok, anything can happen to him in the bush, but I pray that soon he will be back with his wife.
COLDEN RULE, NEVER TRAVEL ALONE, WITHOUT A SAT-PHONE.

Never travel alone...point...

[OOOOMS]

I just hope the old guy is ok, anything can happen to him in the bush, but I pray that soon he will be back with his wife.
COLDEN RULE, NEVER TRAVEL ALONE, WITHOUT A SAT-PHONE.

Never travel alone...point...

Good

dot.jpg (2.36 KiB) Viewed 3237 times

...and always give family and friends an itenary of your where abouts

point1.jpg (11.66 KiB) Viewed 3237 times

[0000DS]

http://www.rapport.co.za/Suid-Afrika/Nu ... r-20111015" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

So far no good news.

[ChrisF]

Tragies.


SO maklik om nie hier te sit en praat van wat hulle anders moes doen, MAAR meeste van ons het al so alleen gery ! En feit is, ons gaan binnekort weer alleen ry. En al beplan mens om nie "ver" van die hoof paaie te gaan nie gebeur dit SO maklik !!

[Hilux01]

Very sad news indeed

[jacques kotze]

Dis nou al n hele ruk vandat hy weg is, met net een bottel water, ek dink nie dit gaan goed uitdraai nie. Hoop maar vir die beste!

[ROOFER]

let us TRUST THE ALMIGHTY GOD that the old chap is found and in good health ! we trust

[Kagiso]

an informed "old guy" of 80 can outlive an uninformed youngster of 20, 30, 40 ... see me at 60, still around. But I don't walk away from my vehicle "to get help' and leave my Dwergie alone. Never ever.
I carry 8-days emergency food & water with when I travel soontoe en verder [only start using after day 3]
I cannot afford a SATNAV [else I would have owned one ... long ago] and I don't have two way radio's either ... but you will find a mirror & morse code booklet in my kit. You will find a tent suitable for Himalayas weather and enough warm things & fuel.
IN summer you will find the water purify kit - and the emergency food wont be the same as the winter pack.

I would not dream of leaving my Dwergie alone while I walk off "looking for help"
I he had stayed with his wife, both would be O K today...

Even if I do publish my Survivin' Africa Manual, only a handful will buy it, even less will read it and and people will still die - because they don't activate their brains into THINK SURVIVAL mode when amas hit the fan.

[BruceH]

I think he was using a Personal Locator Beacon (PLBs)
http://www.sarsat.noaa.gov/emerbcns.html

Personal Locator Beacons use a UHF (line of sight) signal which only beams to an overhead satellite, not to any search and rescue teams on the ground. SAR teams have no means of reading the data or triangulating the position of the signal.

From the satellite, the signal gets relayed to ground-based response organisations. In South Africa, that organisation is the Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre at Joburg International Airport. They do not respond to PLB signals unless it is coming from a missing aircraft, and as part of ATNS (air traffic control) they know who is missing.

Buying and carrying a PLB in SA is a waste of money and useless to you, as you will press the button and no-one will ever come. You need a GPS and a VHF radio as a minimum and a Sat phone if you can afford to hire or buy one, but most of all, you need to leave an itinerary with someone and then stick to it.

Of course the golden rule in all of these situations is STAY WITH THE VEHICLE!!

A vehicle is 100 times easier to see from the sky than a human being. If this missing man had stayed put he would have been back home again. To wander off on your own in lion country (unarmed) is senseless.

[Mountain Man]

I just hope the old guy is ok, anything can happen to him in the bush, but I pray that soon he will be back with his wife.
COLDEN RULE, NEVER TRAVEL ALONE, WITHOUT A SAT-PHONE.

We recently did a trip through Khaudum National Park in Namibia. The parks rule is to have a minimum of 2 vehicles at all times due to the remotness and deep sand. We however went alone (My wife and myself and no sat phone). We were however prepared for having to stay with the vehicle in the event of a breakdown. We had enough "emergency" food to last a month if the need be. I carry a ammo box with Imana, Pasta & sauce, 2 Min Noodles and the like. This is only for emergency use. Obviously water is always a concern and one will not be able to carry enough for a month, however there is more chance of finding water in the wild then food.

The point I'm making is that if a person is suitably prepared for an breakdown of sorts, then when one occurs you will know the plan of action instead of making a decision on the spur of the moment.

As mentioned earlier there is more chance of seeing a vehicle then one person. So staying with the vehicle is vitally important.

We have to prepare to make the correct call when the circumstances require and we must make sure we know our emergency plan BEFORE it happens.