AK AK - Mary Dawn Wilson, 69 - 2-YO Grandchild Found Locked in Abandoned Car, Healy, 12 July 2022

[WingsOverTX]

I've been on the Stampede Road for various reasons including during the middle of the night for aurora viewing and also during the the day. Even at 3am the occasional vehicle would go by headed away from the Parks Hwy. from where I was parked going who knows where. To be honest I've driven the road for quite a distance including up to where the road turns into a trail but never really paid attention to the mile markers. I will be in the area again mid September and will drive the road and find the 6.8 mile mark where Mary's car was found. Will also take some photos and post here if allowed.

RBBM
It's a dead end with one way in & one way out so the destination isn't an open question unless they park at the end of the dirt & walk into the wilderness in the shadow of Denali, right?

This is the question I continue to have. Say, the most wilderness I have ever experienced is on trail at Rocky Mountain National Park, am I prepared for a sojourn to the terminus of Stampede if I have a Jeep & a daypack to see the sights & hike a couple of hours. Or am I risking my life? I read that people trying to reach the Magic Bus (no longer there) had to cross rivers to do so. Some died.

So much discussion here seems focused on this being a normal place to drive with a toddler in a Ford sedan. What say you? I have looked at this road on Google Earth. No gas stations, no food destinations & more remote from anything resembling services the farther you go.

And yet Mary went. And is likely still out there, sadly.

JMO

 

[ComfortablyNumbb]

RBBM
It's a dead end with one way in & one way out so the destination isn't an open question unless they park at the end of the dirt & walk into the wilderness in the shadow of Denali, right?

This is the question I continue to have. Say, the most wilderness I have ever experienced is on trail at Rocky Mountain National Park, am I prepared for a sojourn to the terminus of Stampede if I have a Jeep & a daypack to see the sights & hike a couple of hours. Or am I risking my life? I read that people trying to reach the Magic Bus (no longer there) had to cross rivers to do so. Some died.

So much discussion here seems focused on this being a normal place to drive with a toddler in a Ford sedan. What say you? I have looked at this road on Google Earth. No gas stations, no food destinations & more remote from anything resembling services the farther you go.

And yet Mary went. And is likely still out there, sadly.

JMO

There are places of business, some homes. I have no idea why Mary was on Stampede Road. Maybe she was going to see someone she knew. Its blueberry picking season. Who knows? Maybe someone knows but there has been very little detailed information given up by LE. I haven't even seen a physical description of her regarding height and weight.

What does RBBM mean? (I'm new here)

 

[FunkyMonkey]

Oh no. Car stuck & she walks into the wilderness? Very worrisome. So glad the child is back with her mother. I hope the grandmother is found soon. I wonder why she was traveling in that remote area?

MOO

Most of Alaska is very remote. Way of life and normal.

 

[WingsOverTX]

There are places of business, some homes. I have no idea why Mary was on Stampede Road. Maybe she was going to see someone she knew. Its blueberry picking season. Who knows? Maybe someone knows but there has been very little detailed information given up by LE. I haven't even seen a physical description of her regarding height and weight.

What does RBBM mean? (I'm new here)

RBBM - Respectfully Bolded By Me

 

[SimplyCass]

So i can verify that Stampede Rd/Trail are the same area; they are not separate.

Here's what I figured out:

https://www.bellsalaska.com/road%20logs/parks-highway-log.pdf

mile 251.3 Small parking area
mile 252.5 Panguingue Creek

Where Panguingue Creek crosses Parks Highway/AK-3, the exact coordinates are 63.91379, -149.08378. It is not a creek as most people would think of one, more like a river on a map.

Stampede Rd. crosses AK-3 at 63.89905, -149.05587

So, the car was found off Stampede Rd, aka Stampede Trail, so the maps that @ClaireNC and I put together (separately) are in the right area.

 

[kccorona]

@SimplyCass hopefully this clears up what I’m seeing that Road and Trail aren’t the same route.

I’m on mobile so can’t do a proper map but here’s what I’ve put together. (Click on images to view them full-size/not blurry).
Here is the intersection of Parks Highway and Stampede Road (coordinates shown in pic):

On apple maps, the whole road is labelled as Stampede Trail.

This is not how it is listed on Google maps.
Here is the where Stampede Road ends in the Stampede Trail trailhead (coordinates also included). You can see on this map how the official “road” does end and the trail starts, as signified by the change in thickness of the line on this map.
Of note- there is a campground w cabins and tourist attractions at the trailhead that has a Google page w pics and reviews if anyone is interested.

And- here is the entire 8 mile route from the start of Stampede Road (at intersection of Parks Hwy) to the end of Stampede Road, and subsequently the beginning of Stampede Trail.


And yes- as @ComfortablyNumbb notes up thread from their personal experience on this road, there are several houses/businesses along the 8 mile route from Parks Hwy turn off until Stampede Road ends at the Stampede Trail Trailhead. Here is link to that route, buildings/homes can be seen in satellite mode:

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

goo.gl

 

[kccorona]

I haven't even seen a physical description of her regarding height and weight.

Per Alaska State Troopers- Mary is 4’10” and 160 lbs. She has gray hair and blue eyes.

 

[NervousNellie]

I'm going back to being confused about Stampede Road and Trail. I know a poster previously shared articles taht identified Mary's car as being located off Stampede Road, but the police dispatch and other articles mention Stampede Trail. Again, if local LE are saying her vehicle was found on the Trail, I believe it was found on the Trail.

Here is the article that says the car was found on Stampede Road, yet it also talks about the Road as a famous trail and calls it the "Trail Road" in one of the last paragraphs. This is from a news source.

Search for Alaska grandma halted after toddler found in car

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Officials have ended their search for a woman whose 2-year-old grandchild was found alone last week in a locked car that stuck in mud on a rural Alaska road, authorities sa…

www.news10.com

This is the daily dispatch from the Alaska Department of Public Safety. It clearly states numerous times that her car was found on the Trail.

Department of Public Safety

The Department of Public Safety (DPS) is the state agency charged with providing functions relative to the protection of life, property, and wildlife resources. Department members enforce criminal laws, traffic laws and regulations, wildlife laws and regulations, fire laws and regulations, and...

dailydispatch.dps.alaska.gov

This news source says her car and belongings were found on Stampede Trail.

2-year-old found locked in car that was abandoned 2 days ago near Healy

A 2-year-old child was found locked in an abandoned car outside Healy on Thursday morning. Troopers are now looking for a woman the child was with.

www.alaskasnewssource.com

ETA - (I hit post by accident).
All this and still no one has any idea why Mary was on that Road or Trail. It's very confusing. It would be interesting if we could hear from the people with whom she stayed the night before they believe her car was stuck.

 

[nao]

Moo..when you live in remote or rural areas. I think just driving up back roads is a thing...just something to do...did it with my young one. But why her stuff was found away...i dunno

 

[vls12345]

Since it seems like there may be some homes in the area, I am assuming LE checked if there is anyone with a criminal history in that area?

Not saying that's what happened but... maybe???

MOO.

 

[SimplyCass]

@SimplyCass hopefully this clears up what I’m seeing that Road and Trail aren’t the same route.

I don't agree with the idea that 6.8 miles "up" refers to when the "trail" part starts. The reports always mention in relation to the Parks Highway, so I think it starts from there.



Here's a map I found from Down the Trail. if 6.8 miles starts at the trailhead, that's 0.7 miles away from the Savage River crossing, meaning that the items they found 7.9 miles (1.1 miles from the car) further out would be on other side of that river crossing. Nothing has been mentioned about MDW possibly crossing a river.

MOO (my opinion only)

Woman missing after 2-year-old found in car abandoned on Stampede Trail

The child was transported to Healy in what appeared to be good health, but 69-year-old Mary Wilson has not been found, Alaska State Troopers say.

www.adn.com

This article says that the area where the car was stuck is 3 miles away from the nearest home. Can anyone potentially pinpoint this down further?

 

[MsJessa]

Has anyone said what time of day Mary left the people she was visiting? Or where in Healy they lived? I noticed a Dog sled business on Stampede Rd. Could those be her friends from being a musher? She left, got stuck, was going to go to get help, but then had a medical emergency in the process? Just thoughts running thru my head.

 

[ComfortablyNumbb]

I don't agree with the idea that 6.8 miles "up" refers to when the "trail" part starts. The reports always mention in relation to the Parks Highway, so I think it starts from there.

View attachment 356418

Here's a map I found from Down the Trail. if 6.8 miles starts at the trailhead, that's 0.7 miles away from the Savage River crossing, meaning that the items they found 7.9 miles (1.1 miles from the car) further out would be on other side of that river crossing. Nothing has been mentioned about MDW possibly crossing a river.

MOO (my opinion only)

Woman missing after 2-year-old found in car abandoned on Stampede Trail

The child was transported to Healy in what appeared to be good health, but 69-year-old Mary Wilson has not been found, Alaska State Troopers say.

www.adn.com

This article says that the area where the car was stuck is 3 miles away from the nearest home. Can anyone potentially pinpoint this down further?

It would be my understanding that 'Mile 0' would be the corner of the Parks Highway and the Stampede Road. Then the counter begins as you travel west on the Stampede Road.

 

[kccorona]

if 6.8 miles starts at the trailhead, that's 0.7 miles away from the Savage River crossing, meaning that the items they found 7.9 miles (1.1 miles from the car) further out would be on other side of that river crossing. Nothing has been mentioned about MDW possibly crossing a river.

I agree- that’s why I believe the articles that state “Stampede Trail” are using it interchangeably with “Stampede Road”- upthread I quoted an article that described the “Road” aspect of Stampede is 8 miles, from Parks Hwy to the “Trail” aspect trailhead.

“They say the Ford Focus was stuck in the mud about 6.8 miles out on Stampede Road, off the Parks Highway.
Troopers said it’s believed she started walking, but in the opposite direction from the highway. Personal items believed to belong to her were found around mile 7.9 of Stampede Road.

Stampede Road heads west off the Parks Highway at mile 251. The first four miles are paved, the second four are dirt and gravel, after which it deteriorates into a trail.”

It makes much more sense to me that her car would be found at 6.8 mile marker of the Road, and then troopers state she appeared to have walked in the opposite direction of the highway, and they found her belongings at mile 7.9.

 

[kccorona]

Has anyone said what time of day Mary left the people she was visiting? Or where in Healy they lived?

Alaska State Trooper FB post states she was last seen morning of 7/12/22 at a residence near Healy where she stayed the night with friends.

https://www.facebook.com/100064590853541/posts/406604651502560

The way that’s worded (a residence near Healy) I wonder if it actually was a friends’ house? Or an AirBNB type of situation where they all met up to stay for the night?

 

[ComfortablyNumbb]

I agree- that’s why I believe the articles that state “Stampede Trail” are using it interchangeably with “Stampede Road”- upthread I quoted an article that described the “Road” aspect of Stampede is 8 miles, from Parks Hwy to the “Trail” aspect trailhead.


It makes much more sense to me that her car would be found at 6.8 mile marker of the Road, and then troopers state she appeared to have walked in the opposite direction of the highway,

I agree- that’s why I believe the articles that state “Stampede Trail” are using it interchangeably with “Stampede Road”- upthread I quoted an article that described the “Road” aspect of Stampede is 8 miles, from Parks Hwy to the “Trail” aspect trailhead.


It makes much more sense to me that her car would be found at 6.8 mile marker of the Road, and then troopers state she appeared to have walked in the opposite direction of the highway, and they found her belongings at mile 7.9.

I agree- that’s why I believe the articles that state “Stampede Trail” are using it interchangeably with “Stampede Road”- upthread I quoted an article that described the “Road” aspect of Stampede is 8 miles, from Parks Hwy to the “Trail” aspect trailhead.


It makes much more sense to me that her car would be found at 6.8 mile marker of the Road, and then troopers state she appeared to have walked in the opposite direction of the highway, and they found her belongings at mile 7.9.

That's all correct. The Stampede Trail begins where the Stampede Road ends.

 

[Stunned]

Alaska State Trooper FB post states she was last seen morning of 7/12/22 at a residence near Healy where she stayed the night with friends.

https://www.facebook.com/100064590853541/posts/406604651502560

The way that’s worded (a residence near Healy) I wonder if it actually was a friends’ house? Or an AirBNB type of situation where they all met up to stay for the night?

So she got stuck, right after leaving the house that morning, in the afternoon? And the baby found 2 days later?

 

[ComfortablyNumbb]

Had to dig a bit to find this photo I took several years ago. This would be 'Mile 0'.

 

[kccorona]

So she got stuck, right after leaving the house that morning, in the afternoon? And the baby found 2 days later?

I believe that’s what all evidence has pointed to thus far. Although the baby was found 1:30am Thursday, so hopefully they were “only” alone in the car for 36 hours. Still a scarily long time for a 2-year old to be alone but thankfully it wasn’t longer.

 

[Cuoco7]

It's not allowing me to quote, but it's from the above post from @kccorona post #115.


This article states her articles were found "7.8 miles DOWN the stampede trail". Is down considered up or further from? Or does down mean the car was parked and she went down, but still away from the highway. Super vague and confusing. I still don't see a reason to leave the baby unless it was very late at night.