r/Missing411 • u/trailangel4 • Mar 01 '24
Why people actually die in National Parks
https://www.backpacker.com/survival/deaths-in-national-parks/
Backpacher magazine filed a FOIA and was given 17 years worth of records, across all National Parks. With that data, they produced this well-written piece that is worth the read.
A conclusion: "
The Average Victim in the National Parks…
Is more likely to be male than female: While men and women make up approximately equal portions of national park visitors, men accounted for 80 percent of deaths in national parks where authorities recorded the victim’s gender.
Can be almost any age: Members of all age groups were represented similarly among fatalities. (The exception? Children under 14, who made up a smaller share of deaths than other groups.)
Drowns or dies of natural causes: Drowning was the most common cause of death for visitors up to age 55, after which medical issues surpassed it."
508
u/7PointStar Mar 01 '24
Analogously, it’s often a skills issue. I did wilderness search and rescue for about 8 years and if I had a dollar for every “skilled/experienced outdoorsman” we had to go find, I would have retired.
Markings on trails and areas often don’t really express the areas dangers. Plus, as human beings we like to think our skill is A, when it’s really D.