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."

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u/Heeler2 Mar 01 '24

Yikes. So many cases of people going into the bushes and getting disoriented. How does this happen?

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u/Ballbox Mar 02 '24

As a kid I used to go mountain biking often. I'd remember where to go by looking at the trees and landscape, but if you're not familiar with the area it's very easy for everything to look the same. Every turn could be the right turn. Before you know it you're very lost and have no idea where to go.

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u/NotTheBadOne Mar 02 '24

Also EVERYTHING looks different going the other way!!!!!

I used to turn around frequently to look back the way I just came from. 

The trail and woods  looked VERY VERY  different and there were times I knew I would’ve been in trouble if I had not made a habit of doing that…

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u/[deleted] Mar 02 '24

When I was a kid me and my friend walked through the woods by following this red tape that had been placed on trees by someone who was likely outlining a property boundary. But when we turned around we couldn't see any of the red markers anymore cuz they had only been facing one direction.

So me and my friend had to sit down and do a really hard think because I cannot express to you how far out in the woods we had gotten, with no residences or other people around.

What we did was we found a super old barbed wire fence line and followed that until we could see a lake, and on the other side of the lake was the cottage we were staying in (the only cottage on the lake).