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BAJACAT
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2902
Registered: 11-21-2005
Location: NATIONAL CITY, CA
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LAGUNA SALADA CLAIMS 3 VICTIMS
According to the local Mexican news, they have been looking for this Mexicali police women that dissapear with friend and son, they claim they got
lost on the road to guadalupe canyon.
Three found dead of heat exposure in Mexicali Desert Baja Mexico
Three people were found dead near a Jeep Cherokee that was off-road driving near Laguna Salada, Baja Mexico yesterday. Temperatures in the area had
reached 112 degrees with an estimated heat index of 133 degrees.
After a search operation began at dawn, municipal and ministerial teams found the sun burned bodies of Yaneth Rodriguez, Jesus Valdez and his son's
friend Arnold Acevedo, in a very hot section of the Laguna Salada, near Mexicali. Yesterday, teams found the Jeep Cherokee, buried to its driving
hubs.
Rescue teams, a contingent of police officers and elements of the rescue group Aguiluchos and rescue dogs, began a tour type "comb" with a distance of
ten meters between each other, to a group of bushes below which found the bodies of two adult, male, female and a juvenile male. For the status of the
bodies could not reliably determine the identities, so they will have to wait the conclusion of the forensic expert to confirm the dead identities.
[Edited on 7-27-2009 by BAJACAT]
BAJA IS WHAT YOU WANTED TO BE, FUN,DANGEROUS,INCREDIBLE, REMOTE, EXOTIC..JUST GO AND HAVE FUN.....
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BAJACAT
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2902
Registered: 11-21-2005
Location: NATIONAL CITY, CA
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There goes to show, that even a fun day in Baja will come with a high prize to pay, be prepared and know your limits, may this people rest in peace.
PS. LOOKING AT THE JEEP PIX , I DON'T THINK IT WAS 4X4 LOL
[Edited on 7-27-2009 by BAJACAT]
BAJA IS WHAT YOU WANTED TO BE, FUN,DANGEROUS,INCREDIBLE, REMOTE, EXOTIC..JUST GO AND HAVE FUN.....
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 65291
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Remember folks... getting stuck in the sand is solved by removing air from the tires to 10 psi or less... 2WD or 4WD. I have gotten 'stuck' many times
and always gotten myself unstuck after taking more air out and clearing away any built up sand from infront of the tires (and differentials if buried
that far down). If the tires only spin and you are not moving forward, stop reving the motor... In sand, once you stop going forward, spinning tires
only move you down!
Very sorry to hear of this tragic loss.
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duke62
Nomad
Posts: 112
Registered: 11-16-2007
Location: La Mesa & Erendira
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So sad....
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Barry A.
Select Nomad
Posts: 10007
Registered: 11-30-2003
Location: Redding, Northern CA
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Mood: optimistic
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Yes, incredibly sad.
I agree with David K 100%, and I come to that conclusion after 55 years of driving in sand, and 30 years as a Ranger in mostly desert and beach
environments, and seeing similar trajedies over and over again through the years.
Lack of experience and knowledge is a killer in the desert.
Thanks for the excellent and valuable "report", BajaCat.
Barry
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DianaT
Select Nomad
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Registered: 12-17-2004
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So very sad for the families. 
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BAJACAT
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2902
Registered: 11-21-2005
Location: NATIONAL CITY, CA
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tHEY FOUND the third victim, a Mexicali Police officer Yaneth Rodriguez,they are alot versions of how they got lost, this happend near Rancho La
Ponderosa via Laguna Salada. here is link for the rest of the story. The pic is kind of
graffic..http://www.oem.com.mx/lavozdelafrontera/notas/n1260313.htm
BAJA IS WHAT YOU WANTED TO BE, FUN,DANGEROUS,INCREDIBLE, REMOTE, EXOTIC..JUST GO AND HAVE FUN.....
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8964
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
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Mood: Pole Line Road postponed due to injury
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That is tragic news. During the winter, it tends to get warm in the sun, and very cold at night. I can't imagine the summer heat, what that feels
like. Never travel backcountry alone - a backup vehicle in this situation might have adverted a tragedy.
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redhilltown
Super Nomad
Posts: 1130
Registered: 1-24-2009
Location: Long Beach, CA
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And continuing on Daivd K's theme, after you air down and dig out the tires, anything you can put under or in front of them for traction can really
help...carpet pieces, floor mats, local brush...you name it...anything but sand.
A bummer story for sure. Stay with your car, stay in the shade, and burn your spare for a signal if ya gotta.
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mtgoat666
Select Nomad
Posts: 19956
Registered: 9-16-2006
Location: San Diego
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Mood: Hot n spicy
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lots of good advice, but none advising most important thing: when exploring in the desert, carry water. you can last for a long time with sufficient
water. easy to throw a 5-gal jug in the car.
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Barry A.
Select Nomad
Posts: 10007
Registered: 11-30-2003
Location: Redding, Northern CA
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Mood: optimistic
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----again, all good advice.
-------but as I look again at that picture of where they were stuck, I don't think they could have gotten out of there no matter what if the country
behind them looked like the country ahead of them. It does not get much more "vehicle-hostile", judging by the pic.----I don't know how they could
have attained the speed they would have needed to get out, after being that badly stuck----"floatation" only works so much------I don't
know-------------(???)
The real error was entering that terraign in the first place without "back-up", and in a standard SUV (??), as was stated above---------only a dune
buggy works well in that type of sand, or the use of over-size tires.
------but, we all make mistakes, and this time it resulted in a disaster.
Barry
[Edited on 7-30-2009 by Barry A.]
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TMW
Select Nomad
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Registered: 9-1-2003
Location: Bakersfield, CA
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It appears to me they used very poor judgement. The road to GC is not a deep sand road so I would assume they really didn't know where they were
headed and to make matters worse they went into soft sand. It also seems they did not have enough water for the area they went to. I think maybe they
had been drinking and ended up making a very bad decision.
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bajalou
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4459
Registered: 3-11-2004
Location: South of the broder
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One thing to remember when airing down. If you are stuck, be sure you have clearance for the differential, gas tank etc before airing down.
Sometimes you need to jack up the vehicle and fill in under the tires before the air down process. If you're high centered, you have to take care of
that first.
No Bad Days
\"Never argue with an idiot. People watching may not be able to tell the difference\"
\"The trouble with doing nothing is - how do I know when I\'m done?\"
Nomad Baja Interactive map
And in the San Felipe area - check out Valle Chico area |
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ELINVESTIG8R
Select Nomad
Posts: 15882
Registered: 11-20-2007
Location: Southern California
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May they Rest in Peace. It is such a shame.
I found this web site dealing with getting stuck. Some of you have much more experience than me but here it is anyway.
http://www.off-road.com/trucks4x4/article/articleDetail.jsp?...
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tripledigitken
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4848
Registered: 9-27-2006
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Tragedy for sure. Any offroading in that environment during the middle of summer is very risky.
Even being prepared with water and shovels, with heat index over 130 f, you loose your ability to make sound decisions fast.
Best to save those trips for when it gets cooler.
My thoughts are with the surviving family members.
Ken
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bajalou
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4459
Registered: 3-11-2004
Location: South of the broder
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I'll put in a plug here for Spot - personal GPS based emergency notification system
http://findmespot.com/en/
They are great for just letting friends know of your travels, but the "Help" and "911" features can be invaluable.
No Bad Days
\"Never argue with an idiot. People watching may not be able to tell the difference\"
\"The trouble with doing nothing is - how do I know when I\'m done?\"
Nomad Baja Interactive map
And in the San Felipe area - check out Valle Chico area |
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LisaR.
Nomad
Posts: 121
Registered: 6-3-2009
Location: Chapala, Jalisco
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ELINVESTI8-- Thanks for the link... Seems like a good thing to print out and shove in the glove compartment!
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ELINVESTIG8R
Select Nomad
Posts: 15882
Registered: 11-20-2007
Location: Southern California
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LisaR. You’re welcome. That is what I did. It's a nice reference.
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zforbes
Nomad
Posts: 334
Registered: 4-11-2005
Location: Bahia Asuncion
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Mood: Living the dream
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And add the article to "The List" -- especially if you are an inexperienced explorer (like me).
\"You cannot prevent the birds of sadness from passing over your head, but you can prevent them from nesting in your hair.\"
Swedish proverb
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fdt
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4059
Registered: 9-7-2003
Location: Tijuana, Baja California
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Mood: Yeah, what if it all goes right
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I posted this some years ago about a trip we made to Cañon de Guadalupe and how we saved one life but lost another who died in Simone's arms.
On May 04 2004 we took a trip to Cañon de Guadalupe, fdt, Mrs. ferna, and the kids in one Saturn VUE and James and his daughter in another Saturn VUE,
we wanted to try them out, both brand new, the plan was to leave Tijuana early, but ended up leaving till about 10, we reached the Ca?on de Guadalupe
exit at about noon or so and into the Salada we went, there was some pavement then, maybe for about a few miles in and then the dirt started, about 4
miles in we see at a distance a man walking, as we get closer he starts waving at us but not very energetic as if his arm weighed a ton, remember it's
around 12:30 and it's 109 farenheit according to our thermometer in the mirror and this guy is just walking twards us. Were all what the? and we stop
and the guy is foaming in the mouth and sais ayudenme por favor, immediatly we start asking what is he doing walking in the dessert (he had a digital
camera hanging from his neck and was well dressed but dusty). As we continue asking and giving him gatorade / water / soda, we sat him in front of the
air conditioner (the guy was dying when we found him), he starts to compose himself and starts telling us that they thought they whent to far and in
turning bak got stuck in the sand and that they waited and waited and no one would drive by so they decided to walk to the hwy and that his friend was
back there cause she couldn't make it any further. I'm all what do you mean back there, there is someone else? So we get back in our cars and there we
go full speed and after quite a way we spot someone laying on the middle of the road. Were all Oh my God! Oh chit! En la madre! We get there, get out
of the car and it's a young laidy just laying there navy blue skirt, white shirt, navy blue sport coat. I start moving her in desperation, Simone
tells me get out of the way and starts mouth to mouth, listens to her heart, sais she still has a heart beat, I say lets get her in the car fast!
Rapido, rapido! I start emptying the back of our VUE of fire wood, ice chests, transfer the tents, sleeping bags etc from the back of my friends VUE
and we get her into the back of his vahicle and off they go to the hwy, James his daughter the guy, and my wife with the lady trying to resucitate
her. I stayed with the kids, loaded up some stuff, left behind some other stuff and followed them. when we got to the hwy I'm all now what? so I head
twards Mexicali. I spot them on the side of the road by one of the emergency phones and there is a white pick p truck aproaching them, the ones that
work on the roads. kids stay in the car, I go to the other car, my wife is crying, the girl's dead. The road guys call the caseta de cobro and 2 more
trucks arrive and they call an ambulance. By this time Simone (Mrs. ferna) is getting really peeed off at these people that work on the roads and
don't even have a first aid kit, or nothing and are just staring at the dead girl and she's all but the guy needs help he's all dehidrated. The
ambulance arrives and the same story, they go to the dead girl and pay no attention to the guy. Finaly they cover up the girl w/a white sheet and tend
to the guy. Remember the dead girl is inside the back of my friends car. so now they say that they have to wait for the federal because of the dead
girl. When the federalde caminos arrives we realize the hole thing that happened and all of the possible complications (dead girl in car? Who done
it). We start explaning to the federal and tell him the whole story. he gets on his cellular and is talking to someone, he goes to his patrol car and
radios, then another cellular call and then another and another. He comes back to were we are by the ambulance and then to my friends car, uncovers
the girs face and sais to the ambulance guys I don't think she's dead, he orders us all to follow him, that we were going to the hospital in Mexicali
to get an electrocardiograma to verify that the girl was dead. So here we go caravaning, the federal, my friend, with dead girl in back, the
ambulance, me and the kids, the three hwy trucks. Boy it seemed like a long way, we whent all the way downtown MXL to the Hospital General, drove into
the emergency drive, we all get out, it looked like they were already expecting us, a young doctor goes to the back of my friends car and verifies
that the girl is dead, the federal orders them to get her out of the car and get an electrocardiograma for verification. They all look at him like
he's wierd or something but obey and get the girl out and place her in a wheelchair, and could'nt get her straight enough to sit (she was stiff) and
they rolled her into the hospital. the federal callls us and sais give me your information so we do that and then he sais "You need to hurry and move
your cars because they are blocking the emergency driveway".
My friend and I realized tat that was our queue, out get out of jail card, our ticket to leave. We now knew what all those call were for back in the
hwy.
So there we go back to Cañon de Guadalupe, this time we took distances, from the road to were we found the guy, from the guy to the girl's location
and pick up our stuff and then we whent for 9.8 miles and found the truck stuck in the sand, brand new, with a sign on the sides that said CESPM. They
were both engineers for the water company on theire way to do a survey at a ranch and they realized that they had gone to far, stoped and tried to
return and the truck got stuck, they had no radio, no water and no cel phone(it wouldnt have worked anyway). Anyway we got out of our cars and we all
whent to the truck like something was calling us to look at it, it was the missing link to the story, our experience, the kid's real live dead person,
it was reality, lessons to be learned, time, meditation, prayer, thankfulness, and reality. Ok now so we went on our way, by this time the sun has
gone down so we want to hurry so Arturo is still awake when we get there. Here is were it really got weird half a mile in tward the canyon the road
bends to the right slightly and as you finish that bend ther was a ranch with trees, windmill, water sprinklers, people. Now that was wierd, if theyd
only gone the other direction.when we got back home, I started going into the la cronica's (Mexicali's newspaper) web page and found out that her name
was Rosario, she was 26 years old, etc.l My wife was reading all the stories they wrote about the incident and she, against all logic wrote to one of
the reporters to tell our story, and they even printed it. I was kind of nervouse that they might find us but nothing happened, the girls mother ended
up emailing mi wife and thanking her for all she did for her daughter.
http://www.lacronica.com/EdicionImpresa/ejemplaresanteriores...
http://www.lacronica.com/EdicionImpresa/ejemplaresanteriores...
http://www.lacronica.com/EdicionImpresa/ejemplaresanteriores...
http://www.lacronica.com/EdicionImpresa/ejemplaresanteriores...
A well informed Baja California traveler is a smart Baja California traveler!
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