OK.....You can call me an insensitive jerk this morning, I don't mind.
This is yesterday's news. I can't find a 24 hour update.
A vacationing Minnesota father and his 19-year-old son have been missing for a week. They were last heard from when they said they were going to scale a peak in Colorado.
Hoping to find them alive the non-profit Alpine Rescue Team has 50 volunteers scouring the area around Echo Lake at the foot of Mount Evans in the frigid, snowy Rocky Mountains.
The rest of their family was out of town, so the pair was not reported missing until Sunday, the 4th day out. Authorities found their car but don't know what direction they were walking.
Adding to the concern, they were not well-equipped and the weather has been treacherous, with temperatures dropping to zero overnight with blizzard-like whiteout conditions hampering the search. There is no reliable cell phone coverage at 10,600 feet, so rescuers can not track them that way.
A Phoenix woman arrested after leaving her two kids in a hot vehicle during a job interview is fighting to clear her name in court. She has the support of a New Jersey woman who has raised more than $91,000 to help her.
Unemployed, homeless and on food stamps, Shanesha Taylor went to a job interview last month at a Scottsdale insurance company.
The 35-year-old wasn't able to find a sitter, so she left her 2-year-old son and 6-month-old baby in her Dodge Durango with the key in the ignition and the windows rolled down an inch.
A witness found the infant crying hysterically and sweating profusely as temperatures inside the SUV exceeded 100 degrees.
Taylor was arrested after returning to the vehicle, and her tearful mug shot later caught the attention of 24-year-old Amanda Bishop of New Jersey.
Bishop said she was inspired to set up a fund raising web page for Taylor because she could relate to growing up in a family that doesn't have a lot of money.
Taylor pleaded not guilty at her arraignment.
According to court documents the baby was described as wearing a short-sleeve shirt over a long-sleeve shirt, as well as a blanket. Taylor arrived back at the vehicle more than an hour after her interview time.
The fundraising site is absolutely real. The target goal of $9,000 was reached in four days. The fund now exceeds $91,000.
There's no way I can be delicate and tap dance around my feelings. I am sick to death of people who create their own problems. Now these two stories are very different. More than likely the lost father and son will remain lost, and dead. The fact that they went hiking in the Rocky Mountains 'not very well equipped' does not bode well for their survival. The Arizona woman might well lose custody of her kids, she undoubtedly didn't get the job and she may go to jail. But she'll have over $91,000 to help her with her difficulties.
Every year I hear about people lost in unforgiving country. It all started with the 1993 discovery of the Stolpa family. A husband, wife and 5-month-old son who, stuck in snow on a back road, took shelter in a northwest Nevada cave. Missing for five days, they not only survived the frigid conditions but had a movie, "Snowbound: The Jim and Jennifer Stolpa Story (starring Neil Patrick Harris) made of the ordeal.
Last year the big news was the group of six, two adults and four kids, who went off-roading and got stuck for two days in freezing, Arctic-like conditions in Trinity Canyon, Nevada. They were all found safe and sound.
I realize no one goes out in frigid weather with the intention of getting lost and stranded. But one common thread of the majority of these cases is a lack of preparation. Dress properly and take food and water. Always remember the Boy Scout motto. Be Prepared.
And now on to the woman who left her kids in the car. I don't care if it was a final interview to manage the Arizona Diamondbacks, you don't leave kids, or animals, in a sweltering vehicle.
I initially keyed on her arriving at the car one hour after her interview time. I freely admit I thought she may have been doing something else. It was wrong of me to jump to that conclusion. I'm sure her timeline is one of the first things prosecutors will investigate. Regardless of the timing she still endangered her children's lives.
And the fund raising site that has generated over $90,000.00, what do I think about that? You want to know? I think it's altruism at its finest. And if it was up to me I'd find every person that sent a donation and return it with a note of thanks and a suggestion to donate to a local homeless shelter, food bank or church of choice.
I don't think errors in judgment; potentially grievous errors should be rewarded due to the circumstance in which they were conceived.
2 comments:
Chuck, when I lived in South Dakota many years ago, the car always had 2 large coffee cans of sand, an Army fold-up shovel, comforter, water, jerky & candy bars. And we didn't do much traveling on back roads. But the sand & shovel came in handy many times just to get my car out of the parking lot where I worked. And in the late 70's, cell phones were science fiction. It is much better to be safe than sorry.
Trish
Interesting take on the events.. I have a question, what would you have done with your children, homeless, car is your shelter and needing a job to survive. The sacrifices of women are often overlooked by those who don't have to sacrifice or who have not been in such a situation. I would have left the window cracked.. ijs. Thank God for those who had empathy enough to assist where there was an obvious need. Maybe now she can obtain shelter and a sitter for her future interviews when she's released and gets her kids back..I pray..
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