Deceased/Not Found HI - Samuel Martinez, 23, from Nebraska, missed flight home, Kauai, 12 May 2021

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Day 33 I'm feeling less hopeful. Again, we don't know exactly what supplies Samuel had on him. He planned, IMO, a big backpacking trip. The careful consideration of everything you'll be carrying is crucial and how long you can sustain yourself if you're lost and/or injured. There are so many things that can go wrong - injuries, being lost, fatal falls, illness (example -giardia), medical emergency, severe weather that changes the landscape on you, etc.

I'm very passionate about hiking safety and will always recommend a PLB. Cell service, IMO, is not reliable (it's better than nothing however). A PLB is the cheapest insurance on your safety you can have. I carry a Garmin inReach, but there are others to choose from. I also program information into my profile about myself, who is with me, including my dog(s). That information will be passed along to LE & SAR if I activate the SOS. They have that, along with my location.

I feel very sad for Samuel and those who love him. I understand wanting to adventure and enjoy the outdoors. Mother Nature while beautiful can be very unforgiving. IMO
 
I carry a whistle, pocket flares, mirror, mini strobe light and a two sided ground cloth blaze orange/silver that I can lay out. I leave a very detailed note about where I will be, what gear and supplies I have with me and when I expect to be back at the trailhead or home. My emergency gear takes up very little space.
 
sorry if this has already been posted:

193398241_10219659819391385_7017190737264040523_n.jpg

these posters have been laminated & distributed all over the island.
 
I still remain hopeful because it seems there are so many stories now of people getting lost in the wilderness and turning up miraculously after a good amount of time. But for Samuel it has really been an awfully big amount of time...
 
zecats said:
So some locals hate tourists/hikers (who are Americans too, like them, in Sam's case) enough to potentially harm them? Just for being there? Sad. JMO
Click to expand...
There are plenty drugs on the island and alcohol. Combine them with young men who don't like haoles invading their home/community/culture and crazed trouble can happen. Hitchhiking can be fraught with danger. The island most tourist see is not the true island. I lived on Kauai for ten years and ultimately moved back to the mainland because I was so sensitive to the locals' cultural displacement which is deeply felt by many there, especially the young men.
 
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You only have to be 10 feet off a trail to be missed by all but a grid search. Looks like the dog checked a huge amount of territory. A sad situation for all.

It's always very hard for the searchers not to be able to give a family closure. PTSD is a very real side effect of being on a SAR team for both the humans and K9's.
 
IMHO

The only thing worse than dying by drowning would be dying in a fire. Both options are unacceptable to me.

I prefer a suicide before either of those two methods. At least, one has somewhat control over how one's going to die, when and where, if doing so by their own hands and under their own terms.

There is not a more beautiful place to be if, and when, that time comes, than to be on the peaceful Garden Island of Kauai.
 
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