Mother and young son rescued from nightmare camping trip after leaving paper trail: 'Stranded with no service'

Quick thinking and two handwritten notes turned a potential disaster into a happy ending for a mother and her young son who became stranded in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Getting lost in the woods can be a traumatizing experience that can result in serious injuries or even death. Unfortunately for the mother-son duo, a brief camping adventure quickly turned into a harrowing ordeal that left them trapped for over 24 hours. But thanks to their own resourcefulness, they were able to lead rescuers to their location.

The tandem's rescue was detailed in a Facebook post from the Calaveras County Sheriff's Office. On July 11, a 49-year-old mother and her nine-year-old son left the Sacramento area and headed to Camp Wolfeboro near Arnold, California. However, after not returning or answering their phones, the Calaveras County Dispatch Center received a call the next day reporting their disappearance.

A Search and Rescue Team was then deployed to the area, where they organized with the Calaveras County Volunteer Team, which was participating in a monthly training session nearby at Spicer's Reservoir.

After receiving a 911 text from campers who spotted the vehicle matching the description of the missing mother and son the day before, rescue team members then came across one of the messages that the mother left.

"Help. Me and my son are stranded with no service and can't call 911," reads the message. "We are ahead, up the road to the right. Please call 911 to get help for us. Thank you!"

A short distance later, the team discovered the second note, which included a telephone number and the names of the missing mother and son.

"Help. Me and my son are stranded up the road to the right," reads the second note. "Please get help for us. Follow the strips of brown sheet. Thank you."

After following the note's instructions, rescuers continued up a road for a mile until they came across a vehicle and the mother and son. The pair, whose conditions were not revealed in the post, was then taken to a nearby command post, where family members welcomed them.

As noted in the Facebook post, the nine-year-old boy had the wherewithal to use his whistle and periodically deploy three short bursts, an internationally recognized signal for help.