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Travis Peters is with Lynn Bledsoe and ChrisnJennifer Whaley.​

April 2 at 3:42 AM ·

UPDATE 10:12pm EDT 4/5/22
Guys... this is going to be brief. I'm very sorry to say that rescue teams have located my Uncle Ronnie and Aunt Beverly. My Uncle Ronnie I am sad to say has passed away. Beverly is "doing ok" and is being airlifted to Reno as I type this. I have no details on where they were found or how he passed away.
If my uncle passed away over the past 48 hours, knowing that feet were dragging during the first 2 days of this ordeal, than.... I can't even type it. You all know.
Bless you for praying, looking, being there for us. We need you all now more than ever. We love and will forever miss you Ronnie Barker.
 
Henry J Fate said:
Please read this Facebook thread from the very beginning of the families search for their loved ones. We as a community must do more for these types of events. It is heartbreaking.

Click to expand...
It's easy to criticise, but I live in this area and it's hard to imagine what else could have been done. Most of Nevada is America's Outback, the 7th largest state by area (110,000 sq miles) but only #33 by population. Over 75% of Nevada's 3.1 million residents are concentrated in the Las Vegas and Reno/Carson City metro areas. This leaves an overall population density in the rest of the state similar to it's Australian namesake.

Esmeralda County where the couple was found has less than 1000 residents in 729 square miles, half of them living in the town of Goldfield. There's no cell service unless you're adjacent to Hwy 95. Neighboring Nye County is the third largest county by area in the contiguous US. At 18,159 square miles it's larger than 9 states. 86% of it's 40,000 residents live in the Pahrump Valley at the southern end of the county and another 2800 are in Tonopah, the county seat 160 miles to the north. Except for tiny Goldfield in adjacent Esmeralda County there's a not a whole lot of anything except harsh desert and mountainous terrain in between.

This means there's a lot of empty territory for any search to cover, especially when it wasn't initially known the missing couple were in this area. Unfortunately you may be on your own with no cell service and help far away if you get stuck while wandering off the paved road.
 
This reminds me of the death of one of my parents elderly neighbors, a widower in his 80's got lost in the dark driving home from a cousin's house here in Louisiana, he made a wrong turn onto a right of way only a mile so from his house, that he apparently thought was a road, drive perhaps half a mile before getting stuck, just far enough so his van could not be seen from the road. Apparently tried to get out of the van and fell, there was a massive local search for a couple of days, and finally the van was spotted by an air search, but it was too late.
 
I read somewhere if you are lost or have an accident in a remote area to change your voice mail greeting on your phone to say you are lost or injured and where you are. It seems even if your phone is dead those trying to reach you will get that message when they call and your phone goes to VM.
 
Oldgator73 said:
I read somewhere if you are lost or have an accident in a remote area to change your voice mail greeting on your phone to say you are lost or injured and where you are. It seems even if your phone is dead those trying to reach you will get that message when they call and your phone goes to VM.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure if that would work since the voicemail greeting has to be uploaded to the carrier. It's a good idea to leave the phone ON, transmitting, and charged, if possible. That way it can still check in with any nearby towers if it gets enough signal, even if you are not able to get a call out successfully.

This story is so sad. I hope the family finds answers.
 
Isaac-1 said:
Seems like it would be simpler to call 911 if you have a phone signal
Click to expand...
Easier to press a button and say nothing at all about your location--even in an area that has no cell service.

You can also use tracking and then you do not even have to press a button for them to find you. That has saved some people who went down a ditch or whatever and could not even press a button. That even works when the satellite signal cannot get out because of the last known location which will almost always be less than a tenth of a mile away.

Spot Messenger.

in-Reach.

Both have a monthly fee, but how much is one's life worth in such situations?

You can also communicate with friends and family in areas that have no cell service, such as from the Big Bend of Texas, where mine was used every day.

And you can also call for a tow truck in an area that has no cell service.

I own both, and I won't leave home without them.

-Don- Reno, NV
 
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According to the GPS coordinates posted by their nephew, the RV was found stuck on a Jeep trail on the side of a mountain about 30 miles west of Goldfield and 10 miles from the nearest settlement. Keep in mind the population and size of Esmeralda County before you criticise their response too much.

Google Maps: Zoom out to see distance from civilization
 
One of the best ways to keep from getting lost is to look at the route you want to take, and either write down the turns you need to make or put in waypoints, so you stay on the route you want, and not follow the gps religiously.
It looks to me that it is possible they had their gps set to a setting that instead of having them stay on 95, had them turn and go south to Silver Peak.
 
Lou Schneider said:
According to the GPS coordinates posted by their nephew, the RV was found stuck on a Jeep trail on the side of a mountain about 30 miles west of Goldfield.
Click to expand...
I wonder how they ended up in that area in the first place.

Nivloc Road (NV 265)?

Towing on an unpaved road to Silver Peak and then to Goldfield? Who would attempt that?

Or is it now paved? It looks like it is now paved on my maps in the aerial view. It's been many years since I have been down that way and IIRC that was an unpaved road the last time I have been in that area.

-Don- Reno, NV
 
Lou Schneider said:
According to the GPS coordinates posted by their nephew, the RV was found stuck on a Jeep trail on the side of a mountain about 30 miles west of Goldfield and 10 miles from the nearest settlement.
Click to expand...
Who would take an RV there, towing? Something seems rather strange about this story.

-Don- Reno, NV
 
Well, after two seasons playing Campground Host and meeting all kinds of folks, I can very well see (or imagine) how they got to where they were. I would suggest it was intentional, just not very well thought through.
 
Henry J Fate said:

Travis Peters is with Lynn Bledsoe and ChrisnJennifer Whaley.​

April 2 at 3:42 AM ·

UPDATE 10:12pm EDT 4/5/22
Guys... this is going to be brief. I'm very sorry to say that rescue teams have located my Uncle Ronnie and Aunt Beverly. My Uncle Ronnie I am sad to say has passed away. Beverly is "doing ok" and is being airlifted to Reno as I type this. I have no details on where they were found or how he passed away.
If my uncle passed away over the past 48 hours, knowing that feet were dragging during the first 2 days of this ordeal, than.... I can't even type it. You all know.
Bless you for praying, looking, being there for us. We need you all now more than ever. We love and will forever miss you Ronnie Barker.
Click to expand...
I am so so sorry for your loss. Breaks my heart. I hope and pray that Beverly will be ok. But how can she be ok without her Ronnie?😢🙏
 
This is a strange chain of events. But since it's in the desert, I see why. Lots of strange things come out of the desert areas. Praying that God is with her.
 
I was just checking my maps. If their GPS is set for "shorter distance" it will take them right to Silver Peak--not the best way to get to Goldfield, NV & then to Tucson, AZ from Fernley, NV.

They should have stayed on Hwy 6 to Tonopah, NV.

If the GPS was set for "best time" instead of "shorter distance" that is the way they would have gone.

Perhaps in these days of very expensive fuel, many RVers prefer to leave their GPS on "shorter distance".

But then they should expect these types of problems. "Best time" really means "best & fastest roads" which is a lot better for an RV that is towing.

-Don- Reno, NV
 
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