An experience last night

[karder]

I had an experience last night that I thought I would share you folks.

I was on my way home from doing some work in a rather remote area of southern New Mexico. I was driving my personal truck, an old Ford Bronco that is pretty well equipped for off road use, and I was rolling down a dirt road trying to get back to pavement. It was about an hour after sunset so it was dark, and I was going fairly slow (20 mph) as the road was bad and I didn't want to meet any deer. I have my off road lights on so I am kicking quite a bit of light out and I can see well ahead.

All of a sudden, there is a young kid up ahead, just standing there. He is off to the side, and looks to be about 12. My first thought is that he is an illegal, but he doesn't take off running, and kind of timidly waves at me. My "awareness" level jumps to about 10. I stop about 100 feet away from him and scan the area. There is a lot of mesquite and brush, but I can't see anyone else, so I kick all lights up bright on both the front and back, and roll up to him. I am open carrying my 5.7, and feeling very uneasy about this.

I get up to the kid, who is as nervous as a cat. I ask if he needs help. He says "my mom and I got stuck, can you help us". There is no one there except the kid but he is motioning down a small side road that leads up to a remote area that hikers and mountain bikers frequent.

Now is time for a serious judgment call. Everything about this smells. I weigh "I'll call the cops for you" with actually getting involved. The kid looks clean and his clothes look new, and I guess he could be nervous because he is stuck in the middle of nowhere talking to a weird guy. I ask "how far?". The kid says, "it's just right here". I tell him, "okay, walk back to your van and I'll follow". I let him get about 100 feet in front and slowly roll behind him. He rounds the corner. When I get to the intersection I stop, and light the road up. Sure enough, there is a van off to the side, and there are a couple of ladies wearing reflective shirts like the kind cyclists often wear. It seems legit, so I cautiously venture on down the road to where they are.

Turns out the kid was telling the truth. There were two ladies, mid 30s and mid 20s with two kids, an 11 year old and an 8 year old. They had decided to go out hiking and on their way back they failed to notice the shoulder of the road was washed out and when they drifted to the left, they fell off the road and high-centered their van. Apparently they had been stuck their for awhile. They had called a tow-truck but had no idea where they were so they couldn't direct the driver to their location. By the time I got there they were on the line with 911, but once again they couldn't tell the operator where they were. The 911 operator had notified border patrol and the kid was out there trying to catch sight of someone.

The 911 operator asked to speak to me. I told her exactly where we were and that I was going to pull them out. I carry all the recovery tools a normal person could need as I am often in some really remote regions. I hooked them up, shoveled a quick ramp so that their wheels could get back on terra firma, and within 15 minutes they were back on the road. There was a little damage to the undercarriage, but they were not leaking any fluids and appeared to be in good enough shape to get back to civilization. They were truly grateful and relieved, and I think they are done hiking for awhile.

As I was standing there in the dark, wrapping up my tow straps, I couldn't help but think how paranoid I have become. I had to give very serious thought about whether I should stop for a kid. That really sucks. I guess I felt compelled to share this because I don't want all of the evil in our society to cause good men and women to stop being good neighbors. Be alert, and be cautious, but it just takes a few minutes to help folks in need. Let's remember to take care of each other!
(also, if you go out to hike, know where you are in the event you need to call for help!)

[pushpullpete]

Job well done Sir.
Lucky for them that you were there w the necessary tools to help. I've stopped to help people over the yrs but, I have to admit that it's getting harder to help someone while keeping an eye out for trouble.
It shouldn't be that hard to help each other.

[Keith B]

I would not say you were paranoid, but just cautious. You did work to help out someone and made sure you gave yourself an escape route should things go downhill quickly.

I say overall a good job of situational awareness and making sure you had yourself covered, all the while doing a good deed!

[AJSully421]

I hear ya. I had the opposite happen. When I was in college, I did pool chemical service for a couple of years. One day I ran across a girl in her 20's with a flat tire on a section of service road that only goes into this one neighborhood that I was going to service a pool in. I saw her with the jack and stuff pulled out, but she obviously had no idea what she was doing. I pull in behind her to help, and she jumps in her car, locks the doors, and starts telling me that she is fine and that I need to GO AWAY. I try to talk to her, and she grabs her phone and tells me to leave or that she is calling 911. So I left.

I am 6'4, was about 210 at the time, clean cut, shorts and a company tshirt... I don't look like a scumbag. I'd like to think that her dad was a cop or something and told her to trust no one, ever. Either way, she was way over the top paranoid.

I know that it kinda sucks that we have to worry about being ambushed by someone who we thinks needs help. You just never know these days. That is why I carry a high capacity 9mm and spare mags.

Also, I agree... know where you are, this goes double and triple if there are no street signs where you are.

[joe817]

I would not say you were paranoid, but just cautious. You did work to help out someone and made sure you gave yourself an escape route should things go downhill quickly.

I say overall a good job of situational awareness and making sure you had yourself covered, all the while doing a good deed!

I second that karder! Well done!

[Diesel42]

Well done Karder!
Been there myself with an old Land Cruiser. I'm glad those hikers didn't have to spend the night waiting on help. Nights in the desert are cold and thirsty.
Happy Trails!
Nick

[FCH]

Well done, Karder.

[Javier730]

I am 6'4, was about 210 at the time, clean cut, shorts and a company tshirt... I don't look like a scumbag. I'd like to think that her dad was a cop or something and told her to trust no one, ever. Either way, she was way over the top paranoid.

Maybe you do.

[flowrie]

Good use of judgement and caution.
Outstanding!

[Charles L. Cotton]

That was a tough situation, but as others have said, you handled it well. I too long for the days when we could help someone in trouble without having to worry about an ambush. Oh well, we play the hands that our fallen society deal us.

Thanks for being one of the good guys. No Kitty Genovese in Texas!
Chas.

[vjallen75]

Wish there was a Like button, good job!

edited to fix my spelling error

[Jusme]

Great Job Karder!! It is difficult these days to know who to trust, and it's good that you had your danger radar in place.

I always stop to help women and older people who are broken down, if they have three or four healthy looking young men there I figure they can usually handle the situation and pass by.
But even if I do stop I keep my head on a swivel. just in case.

[The Annoyed Man]

I learned a lesson back in early April........ My wife and I took Lonestar Medics' 2 day field medicine class called "Medic 1". Caleb Causey, the instructor, had repeatedly told us to be very careful about assessing scene security when being called to render aid. We ran through different scenarios, with actors he had hired to portray victims and passersby, and were given chances to assess a scene before rendering aid. Now, in my past, I've had almost 6 years of rendering aid in the relatively controlled environment of an emergency room, but I've only rendered aid in the field to someone severely hurt maybe 5 or 6 times in my life.

So in the first scenario, it was in a room, and there was a blind corner on the left as you enter the room. Before entering, I popped my head in and made sure that corner was clear before I entered the room, where the scenario was across the room to my right. I failed to walk a circle around the scene before getting closer, and I walked straight over to where the "victim" was hollering for help. As I made my way over, a "bystander" shanked me twice so fast that I didn't realize I'd been shanked until a couple of seconds after it happened.

Never. Again.

Karder, the world is NOT the touchy feely place we might wish it to be. You're located near an international border where banditos are known to operate with regularity and relative impunity. I think you were smart to be cautious. If the person you're helping is offended by that caution, off them the choice of your caution, or your departure.

Also, the matter of being stuck in a ditch aside, had it even occurred to these women that they needed to be more cautious? Did they understand why you were cautious approaching them? Wrong vehicle for the job notwithstanding, they should have been better prepared.

[WTR]

I have been very fortunate as everyone I have helped were legit. I do know of one man that was killed when he stopped to help change a tire. So be helpful but vigilant. I know my head is on a swivel when I stop.