Thursday, July 25, 2013

Lost Hikers Rescued, Immediately Drive Off Boat Ramp And Die



Sad stuff.  Final Destination anyone?

"Amy Stiner, 37, of Machias, and Melissa Moyer, 38, of Sunbury, Pa., presumably drowned when Stiner drove her car down the boat ramp at the end of a dead-end road at about 9 p.m. Tuesday in this town of 300 people in eastern Maine, said Washington County Sheriff Donnie Smith.

Smith called the deaths a tragic accident made worse because Stiner was five months pregnant. The two were found in the back of the minivan likely due to the fact it sank from the front, The Bangor Daily News reported. A dog was also found dead inside the minivan.

"They called on the phone that they were in the water and the car was filling up. Then the phone went dead," Smith said. "An hour later, the deputies found the car."

Earlier in the evening, the women got lost while hiking in Roque Bluffs State Park amid fog and a steady downpour, the Portland Press Herald reported.

An off-duty firefighter found them and their dog and gave them rides on his ATV back to his house, where a warden picked them up and brought them to the 2001 Dodge Caravan.

Stiner then drove toward the boat ramp instead of in the other direction to Machias, Smith said. Weather could have contributed to the accident, Smith said.

"It appears they went the wrong direction and drove off the ramp," he said. "If you don't know the area, in the fog and rain it wouldn't be a difficult thing to do."

Authorities found the submerged car about 175 feet off the boat ramp, the women and the dog inside with the doors closed and the windows up.


No comments: