Donated housecoat holds an unexpected gift
Wilson Trahan got a surprise from his late wife this week — $600 stashed in a cocoa canister stuffed in her old housecoat. »
Monday, Sep. 29, 2003
Honduran girl has surgery for bone tumors donated
A 10-year-old Honduran girl had successful surgery for potentially crippling bone tumors performed in a Birmingham hospital by some mission-minded doctors. »
Trader rescued from his kidnappers
Police rescued a kidnapped gold trader from his abductors in Sandhuan village here early this morning, a senior police official said. »
Five Rescued After Boat Capsizes In Gulf
Five vacationers are safe after their 21-foot fishing boat capsized in the Gulf of Mexico about 15 miles west of Cape San Blas in the Florida Panhandle. »
Man, 2 girls safely rescued after jet ski breaks down
Two junior high school girls who were stranded on a jet ski in Lake Biwa with a man in his 40s were rescued after their friends alerted police, law enforcers said over the weekend. »
Missing campers rescued
Soaking wet, cold, tired and hungry, four New York City campers were rescued yesterday after trekking aimlessly for miles in 10,000 acres of wooded forest, authorities said.
Kevin Lee, 32, Kown Chang, 26, Lance Zhou, 29, and Grant Wong, 31, lost their way when rain and wind interrupted their hike Saturday around their campsite in Camp Koinonia, just outside Highland Lake.
“We’re very happy to see people,” Zhou said yesterday morning as he was put into an ambulance after almost 24 hours walking through rain and darkness. “Thank God you people came out and looked for us.”
The disappearance of the four New York City men set in motion a massive search and rescue effort involving state and local police, forest rangers and six fire departments.
The men’s camping trip began Friday when a total of eight city friends arrived at Camp K to spend a weekend with nature. The next day, the four hikers told their friends they would be back by 1 p.m. for a late lunch, said Highland Lake fire Chief Rich McKean.
The four lost their bearings but pressed on, trying to find their way out of the woods. About 4 p.m. they disagreed on which way to go; Wong and Lee decided to keep walking, while Chang and Zhou took cover under a military poncho and a pine tree.
Meanwhile, the men back at camp alerted camp staff members that their friends had not returned. Torrential rain made visibility poor, but camp rangers began a fruitless seven-hour search until after dark. At that point, firefighters, state and local police were called in to take over the rescue effort.
Numerous search parties were formed to comb as much terrain as possible around the campsite, located in an otherwise uninhabited area.
“You see nothing but forests, hills, valleysØ…Øswamps, and lots of mountains,” Patti Lovelace, an emergency medical technician, said of the area.
The night was pitch black. Weather prevented helicopters from joining the search, but 25 all-terrain vehicles were brought in to search the rugged area.
The nonstop search paid off after midnight, when rescuers found Wong and Lee. They had wandered about five miles from the campsite.
Weather conditions forced rescuers to call off the search at 3:30 a.m., but it was back to work at dawn when the rain had died down somewhat.
Rescue workers came upon Chang and Zhou at 10:20 a.m., six miles from the campsite and eight miles in the opposite direction from where the first two were found.
Chang, wearing sweat pants and a shirt, and Zhou, covered with the military poncho, were in good shape, although both said they were very cold and tired. Lovelace, who treated the men, said they were also dehydrated.
Police, firefighters and rangers cheered and applauded as they strode toward the ambulance. Zhou, a former Marine, waived and shouted out “thank yous” to scores of rescuers awaiting their safe return.
“I think they were a little bit embarrassed that they created such an event and had all these people looking for them,” Lovelace said.
They greeted each other and sat down to reminisce on their adventure over some hot coffee, and granola bar, with the comfort of some blankets, towels and heat packs. Despite their ordeal, the four decided to continue their camping trip.
“It’s something to tell their grandchildren about,” Lovelace said.
Three stories of wondrous recoveries
A comatose nurse dreamed five angels were calling to her from a mountaintop. »
Friday, Sep. 26, 2003
Pensioner rescued in arson attacks on flats
Firefighters rescued an elderly woman and her son from a blazing block of flats after a devastating arson attack that left residents homeless indefinitely. »
85 Afghan children rescued from slavery
Afghan authorities have rescued 85 boys who had been abducted, possibly for trafficking abroad, the BBC reported Thursday. »
Off-duty firefighters rescue duo
OFF-DUTY firefighers rescued two people from a burning building in Southwark. »
Friends hail ‘miracle’ rescue
A Cornish fisherman who spent six hours clinging to the wreckage of his sunken boat is lucky to be alive say his friends.
Chris Chesterfield, 44, was rescued when his cries for help were heard by walker on the cliffs at Gorran Haven. »
Miracle of escape
What started out as just another work day for Billy W. Johnson, of Live Oak who is employed with Mayo Ready-Mix Concrete took a turn in the direction of a miracle from anyone’s point-of-view that was at the scene of the early morning crash of the loaded cement truck driven by Johnson. »
Mother & 3 y.o. survive truck accident
A MOTHER and her three-year-old daughter had a “miraculous” escape after their vehicle was dragged under the trailer of a 44-tonne lorry that jack-knifed and careered sideways across both carriageways of the M25 at Theydon Garnon. »
Tuesday, Sep. 16, 2003
Sisters apart for 25 years are reunited
By the time toddler Jung Sook Paik was sent to an orphanage in South Korea, her paperwork did not indicate that she had a little sister. »
‘Angel’ prayed for boy having brain surgery
Like an angel, a random act of kindness visited a Manitowoc family at the hospital recently. »
Saved: runner who choked on rock
A university cross-country coach probably saved an opposing runner’s life when he dislodged a stone that got stuck in her throat at a weekend race. »
Firefighters’ actions saved lives
Dorothy Carrigan said firefighters arrived just in time Sunday morning to rescue her and her mentally retarded adult son and daughter from a second-floor porch as fire destroyed their Fairchance apartment building and killed 76-year-old Earnest Mason. »
Saved by our sandals
An Australian woman vowed never to wear her hiking boots again after Colombian guerrillas kidnapped eight fellow travellers but left behind herself, her husband and three others. »
Lots of locks, all donated with love
Johanna Montgomery, of South Berwick, Maine, is saving her hair. »
Three teachers rescued
Helped by a tip from local villagers, the Indonesian military stormed a rebel hideout in war-wracked Aceh province and rescued three school teachers held hostage, a military spokesman said Sunday.
A fourth teacher remained in the hands of the Free Aceh Movement, which had demanded a ransom of 30 million rupiah (US$3,500) for the release of all four. »
Man’s Leg Pinned Between Pipe, Backhoe Bucket
A construction worker was being treated at a local hospital Monday after he became trapped in trench. »
4 forest staff rescued after kidnap
Police rescued one forest official and three guards, a few hours after their kidnap by illegal loggers Sunday night in the hilly areas of Fatikchhari upazila, 58km north of the city. »
Good Samaritan Helps Rescue Pleasure Boat
The U.S. Coast Guard reports that a good Samaritan Monday helped rescue a pleasure boat that was taking on water about 5 miles north of Santa Cruz near an area known as Whalers Beach. »
Foreign models rescued
A 22-year-old German model has been rescued after being detained by a bogus modelling agency in a flat in southern China. »
People throng to witness milk oozing from ‘miracle tree’
People are thronging to witness a reported miracle of “milk oozing” from a neem tree in Saramedu on the outskirts of Coimbatore on Monday, police said. »
Energizer Donates $25,000 to Children’s Miracle Network
On behalf of the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Energizer made a $25,000 donation to the Children’s Miracle Network during the FLW Tour Championship presented by Castrol that took place last week on the James River in Richmond, Va. Energizer made the donation as part of the Energizer Catch and Release program, which requires Wal-Mart FLW Tour anglers to collectively maintain a 98-percent live-release rate throughout the tournament season. Ryan Corrigan, executive director of the Virginia chapter of the Children’s Miracle Network, was accompanied by a local family whose child has benefited from past donations when he accepted the $25,000 check on behalf of the organization.
Energizer supports FLW Outdoors’ focus on conservation and Wal-Mart’s ongoing commitment to the Children’s Miracle Network. Sponsorship of the Energizer Catch and Release program seemed a natural fit to bridge the two together. Since 2001, the company has donated $25,000 each season, as FLW Tour anglers have consistently surpassed the 98 percent live-release rate. »
Boy miraculously recovers from cancer
It’s being called a medical miracle. A Hudson, Michigan boy diagnosed with a brain tumor comes close to death several times and then miraculously recovers. »
Thursday, Sep. 11, 2003
Stolen baby reunited with parents
A THIEF stole a luxury sportscar from North Middlesex Hospital car park and drove off with a five-week-old baby girl in the back. »
Live baby girl stuns mum - and doctors
A Brazilian woman who had gone to hospital to have a dead foetus removed from her womb discovered her baby was alive. »
Concorde nose to be auctioned for charity
Air France is auctioning off the nose of the famed Concorde jetliner. »