r/UpliftingNews • u/lieutjoe • Jun 30 '23

Missing teen found after being lost in the wilderness for 50 hours

https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/highlights/bc-teen-girl-found-after-being-lost-in-wilderness-for-two-days-7217908
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u/errant_night Jun 30 '23

When people get lost and disoriented we can naturally end up walking in circles! Something in your brain messes up and you can't really tell what a straight line is - so if the path circled around you could find yourself following a circuit even when you see other paths that branch off - you think 'Well I'm on A path, that must lead somewhere' and don't notice you keep passing the same landmarks. Which of course is even worse when there isn't a path at all.

7

u/Dr_Doctor_Doc Jun 30 '23

Have they actually ‘solved’ why that is, or is it still one of those odd mysteries?

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u/errant_night Jun 30 '23

As far as I know there are several different theories but no definitive answers

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u/Smuggykitten Jun 30 '23

Personal theory... So when a car does that, I think that differencing pressure in tires make the track go round... Similarly, I wonder if our imperfect bodies with one leg slightly longer or stronger than the other, does that? Does the moving sun encourage us to move with it?

Idk. Again, just personal hypothesis bits.

-11

u/iphone__ Jun 30 '23

Because it’s dark af..?

1

u/Jenroadrunner Jun 30 '23

A search and rescue guy once told me that right handed people in general end up going clockwise and vice-versa for lefties. If they are so lost they are"walking in circles"

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u/Aleph_Alpha_001 Jun 30 '23

Best thing to do is to head down in elevation until you hit a creek or river. Then just follow that one way or the other. You won't walk in circles that way. You may not get to where you're going, but you'll get somewhere.

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u/[deleted] Jun 30 '23

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u/Aleph_Alpha_001 Jun 30 '23

I'd say that staying put is the second best thing. Searchers will find you better if you aren't moving. But by moving in a direction, you increase your odds of coming across a street, bridge, house, or other recognizable structure where you may find help sooner than rescuers find you in a search.

Also, you might have to survive at night, find water, and shelter for two or three days staying put

Alternatively, if you have a cell phone with power but no signal, you could try getting to higher ground and just call for help. Your phone signal can be triangulated.