Something very sad has unfolded over the last week. A caveat: I'm only reporting what I've heard and read in the media. I apologize if I haven't gotten some of the details accurately.
Jeanne Burke, a 73-year-old resident of my hometown (Felton, California) has been lost in the mountains for over a week. Jeanne used to work at the post office and also owned an archery store.
Jeanne lived near one of two quarries in Felton. It is easy to get lost up there even if you know the terrain. Jeanne wandered off from her home around 3:00 in the afternoon. She was first spotted near the quarry, headed towards Empire Grade.
Let me tell you about that section of Empire Grade. The last time I was up at the Empire Grade quarry gate, I was with a couple of friends across the street, hoping to see a comet. We'd already seen the comet at the beach before the full moon rose, but we decided to make a trek up into the mountains to get a better look. We didn't see the comet, but the "mistake" turned out to be a happy one: we found ourselves in a meadow so fabulously moonlit that it seemed drenched in silver.
Empire Grade itself, however, scared the crap out of me; despite the bright moonlight, the trees seemed strange, almost sinister, and giant quarry and construction trucks kept zooming by. I finally had to go sit in my friend's car, and felt grateful when we finally headed home.
You'd think seeing an elder walking along that remote road might prompt someone to stop and offer help. A couple of years ago, an elder wandered off from an assisted living home near downtown Santa Cruz and walked ten miles up Highway One, a busy road where NOBODY walks. This woman was found deceased on a service road in the woods. Why NO ONE stopped to ask an elder why she was walking along Highway One is beyond me.
The latter is true about Jeanne as well. She walked a short way to Smith Grade Road, which a lot of people won't even drive, much less walk (including me). It's a steep, winding road flanked by heavy woods and and ravines. I am confounded that nobody stopped to ask a 73-year-old woman why she was walking by herself on that road.
Jeanne was sighted for the last time at 4:30 pm on Moore Ranch Road, which branches off Smith Grade. The alert had already gone out that Jeanne was lost, but the person who saw her didn't know that, just thought she was one of many walkers who frequented the area. I can't imagine how this person must feel now.
Moore Ranch Road looks like a very pleasant, flat road flanked by wide meadows (I've never been there myself, but saw a video of that area made by a mountain biker). Still, by 4:30 this time of year, sunset is less than 30 minutes away. Darkness falls early in the woods, and by 5:30 or so, it begins to get pitch black. Jeanne had no flashlight, no food, no proper clothing except a light jacket. She wore a black sandal on one foot, a pink one on the other.
There was a huge search-and-rescue operation over the week, with search dogs, helicopters, and search-and-rescue teams from all over Northern California. A search dog lost her scent at the intersection of Moore Ranch Road and Lupine Lane. Where did she go after that?
Planes with infrared capability searched at night. Planes to communicate with ground crews circled the area during the day, as well as search planes and helicopters. The weather grew cold, then rainy, then clear and cold again. There was no trace of Jeanne at all.
On the 24th, the formal search was "paused" to analyze GPS data and "determine the next steps." I am sure people will still look for her, but after a week lost in dark, cold woods, with a couple of rainy days, no shelter, no proper clothing, no food or water, the chance of finding her alive is slim.
My hope is that perhaps Jeanne found an outbuilding to shelter in. It may not have prevented a worst-case scenario, but maybe she would have found some comfort at not being out in the cold and rain.
My thoughts are jumbled and sad right now, and there is no more I can really say.
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