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I don't get this part. Her hands should be ripped to shreds from cactus spines.
Part of the problem is the sloppy journalism. I just saw an article which said she "found a spring with stagnant water" lol.
The people interviewing her don't have enough sense to probe further, clarify and make sense out of what she tells them.
I'm also concerned if LEO doesn't believe her. They should know more than we do and must have their reasons.
They know people are speculating about it. They had no qualms about clearing the husband when people were speculating about him.
This has been a big factor almost from the start of the thread. The media are grasping at straws for details they know the public is demanding, since it's a high-profile case.
Could she really have been unable to guesstimate how long she'd been running/escaping, and roughly how much distance that travel time had covered? I guess if you're lost in the wilderness, you have no idea which direction to go in.
If you're paying attention, you should have SOME idea. The general geography is simple. California is long from top to bottom, and the highway they came in on, 395, runs north and south. There are large mountain ranges running along both sides of the road. The ocean is toward the west. Nevada and the desert are to the east. The Powells came from the south (Huntington Beach) and turned east toward the desert. Experienced hikers, thinking about it, would have realized that they needed to head WEST to get out. It doesn't matter if she initially ran north, south, or east to get away from the man. By heading west, she would have been 100% certain to reach the highway, if not the campground, eventually. She would also need to have the rudimentary knowledge that west is toward the setting sun. Of course, it's possible, since we know she wasn't an experienced hiker, that she didn't have any of these basic facts at her command.
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The cactus fruit story is possible, if they were ripe in that location at the time. She knew enough to know, that cacti are a potential water source. Being out there, and afraid and increasingly desperate, one would resort to trying to eat cactus.
Eating cactus, fine. Intelligent, even. Smashing a cactus to be able to get to the water/pulp, fine. But saying you smashed a cactus and then were happy to see the fruit inside? The fruit, if any, is outside and readily visible; it's not inside the cactus!
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Plus, she would have feared that the bad guy could be waiting for her back there. Except, he wouldn't be, because the place, as far as she knew, was crawling with police and searchers (she could see the helicopters). And she said she was no longer worried about him, after the first day.
So, it still doesn't make sense.
You're right. It makes no sense to be more afraid of the bad guy who "might" be there than the husband and the rescuers that you KNOW are there. Why would you not go back? Especially when your other option is dying in the wilderness.
Must have been really out of shape not to be able to catch her. Or, maybe he had a bum leg like the dog.
He did not have any arms or legs. He was holding the knife in his teeth and had to put it down to talk to her.
That is how she got away. Of course it was not too difficult to evade him since all he could do was roll downhill to chase her.
He explained to her that he lost his arms and legs in a boating accident that badly disfigured his face as well so he had been hiding out in the wilderness for ten years, but he missed having sex so he was glad she came along.
He survives by licking ants up off the ground and drinking morning dew. There are no footprints because he has no feet. The knife he dropped cannot be found because the dog thought it was a chew toy and ran off with it distracting him and giving her the chance to get away. By the way they are now offering the miracle hero dog for stud services at $1800 per litter in case you want a miracle hero dog.
She was able to eat cactus because she found a basket of them Bob had already prepared and was getting ready to eat. (Bob is the assailant). So she did not need a knife or gloves. He had done all the work for him.
It was not just chance that she was wearing the same shirt she described Bob as wearing in the interview, she went back and took it from him after he fell asleep due to exhaustion from rolling after her all day. She was cold and the dog poo bags just weren't cutting it. Since she no longer needs the **** it is available for purchase for $5,000. Copies of the same identical shirt are available on their new website for $150.
She and the dog will be signing autographs in Venice Beach on July 28 a 2 a.m.
Autographs are $15. ($5 for a paw print).
The family is currently contacting various hollywood producers to discuss the purchase of movie rights.
This has been a big factor almost from the start of the thread. The media are grasping at straws for details they know the public is demanding, since it's a high-profile case.
Right......but she was more than willing to talk to them so they should have gotten some wilderness/hiking experts in there and get the facts straight.
I can excuse her not being clear because she may be a legitimate victim of trauma and even in some mild shock.
He did not have any arms or legs. He was holding the knife in his teeth and had to put it down to talk to her.
That is how she got away. Of course it was not too difficult to evade him since all he could do was roll downhill to chase her.
He explained to her that he lost his arms and legs in a boating accident that badly disfigured his face as well so he had been hiding out in the wilderness for ten years, but he missed having sex so he was glad she came along.
He survives by licking ants up off the ground and drinking morning dew. There are no footprints because he has no feet. The knife he dropped cannot be found because the dog thought it was a chew toy and ran off with it distracting him and giving her the chance to get away. By the way they are now offering the miracle hero dog for stud services at $1800 per litter in case you want a miracle hero dog.
She was able to eat cactus because she found a basket of them Bob had already prepared and was getting ready to eat. (Bob is the assailant). So she did not need a knife or gloves. He had done all the work for him.
It was not just chance that she was wearing the same shirt she described Bob as wearing in the interview, she went back and took it from him after he fell asleep due to exhaustion from rolling after her all day. She was cold and the dog poo bags just weren't cutting it. Since she no longer needs the **** it is available for purchase for $5,000. Copies of the same identical shirt are available on their new website for $150.
She and the dog will be signing autographs in Venice Beach on July 28 a 2 a.m.
Autographs are $15. ($5 for a paw print).
The family is currently contacting various hollywood producers to discuss the purchase of movie rights.
I think you are right. There has been no sketch. There has been no further news about the suspect.
Because of this, I have come to believe her story is fishy. Why she would subject herself to this is beyond me.
However, at least some of the story seems likely to be untrue.
One of my questions is why someone who is bald would be out in the hot sun without a hat. I suppose a hat could have been knocked off in a scuffle. But no one has seen this guy.
At first I thought surely this happened as they say. Now I am not so sure.
I've hiked many times in high mountain areas, such as this. wherever you are, unless you are in extremely heavy tree cover, you can see high mountain tops, ridges, deep canyons, etc. They are in your visual field all the time. This area is very dry, rocky, open terrain where you can see for miles. Thus it is hard for me to believe that she could run several hours in some random direction and not be aware of where she is relative to where she started. This is scruffy, mostly open rocky terrain, not some deep, dark forest with thick tree cover. It makes absolutely zero sense to run and not be able to say where you had run from. Did you run down? did you run up? Did you run through a boulder field or slide down a hill of talus and scree? Obviously you would know where you ran from, and basically where you were in relation to that place. Some people have quoted that she heard the megaphones from the searchers. I haven't seen that info in any news reports. If she did, why not use rocks to bang together to make the usual "3 repeated sounds means help" signal? Bang rocks together 3 times, or freaking scream for help. If they are using megaphones to call out, they are listening for replies or signals. Echoes in these really rocky areas travel for miles.
Getting water from Cacti comes from an old west fairy tale.
Have you ever opened a cactus? You do not break it apart and find a glass of water inside.
You break it open and find pulp.
You put the pulp in a container with a lid to catch the liquid as it evaporates.
In time, you will have a sip of liquid in your container.
You can also just eat the pulp and it has liquid in it. Prickly pear tails are not very pulpy. They are fairly dry. that is why you normally cook them. The fruit is more moist, but still not like an orange. More like a plum only not sweet.
There is a cactus that has actual liquid in it. I think it might be the Barrel cactus. Not sure, I have never seen one that I know of.
Not many types of cacti grow at 8500 feet. I think prickly pear does though. I have seen it up pretty high.
It is clear from the new comments that she heard you can get liquid from a cactus and also heard that you can eat prickly pear, especially the fruit. Most outdoorsy people have heard this. However it is also clear she has never broken one open or tried to eat one - which is also true of most outdoorsy people. Look at a prickly pear and see if you can figure out how to eat it, or even what part to eat. Smash one open and see how much liquid you find. Also, see how hard it is to smash them open, the skin is like leather. You need a knife. I discovered these things because a friend of mine form Mexico wanted to show me how edible and good they can be. To me the amount of effort was not worth the food value, but we had tools. (They really do not taste all that good either. they are fine to put in a salad or cut up and mix with other things and put in Tacos or Tamales.)
Have you ever fallen on a prickly pear? They are very tough. They do not just break off. I cannot imagine how you would cut off a tail without a knife. (Fruit seems to come off easier when it is ripe anyway). Also they are prickly. In addition to the spines they are covered with hairs that have a mild irritant chemical in them. the hairs are really irritating. you do not want to get them in your mouth, that is for sure. Maybe she had some duct tape to remove the hairs.
Eating cactus, fine. Intelligent, even. Smashing a cactus to be able to get to the water/pulp, fine. But saying you smashed a cactus and then were happy to see the fruit inside? The fruit, if any, is outside and readily visible; it's not inside the cactus!
You're right. It makes no sense to be more afraid of the bad guy who "might" be there than the husband and the rescuers that you KNOW are there. Why would you not go back? Especially when your other option is dying in the wilderness.
Maybe she meant she smashed the cactus fruit? Doesn't the fruit also have spines? How would you eat it without getting spines all in your hands?
She was pretty adamant she was running away from the bad guy in panic and nothing was making her go back towards him that first afternoon.
She wasn't clear but it sounds like she might have run/fast walked the entire 2.5 miles away from camp the first afternoon. She had time to do that before LEO showed up. I don't think a police loudspeaker carries for 2 miles, so she may not have heard them. I haven't seen her say she heard that.
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