Boy and stepdad spotted 'Help' carved into dirt road near family cabin — it led them to missing teen girl
One should never ignore instincts or signs and observations, as they could render life-saving information. In 2018, when then-15-year-old Ryle Gordon and his stepdad, Chris Trumbich, were out hunting in rural Idaho, they spotted something unusual, per ABC News. The father-son duo saw the word “Help” written on the mud. They followed through after seeing the sign and, with their vigilance and intelligence, saved the life of a 19-year-old missing teenager, Kathryn “Katie” Ogle, per Oxygen True Crime. The Kootenai County Sheriff's Office had been looking for the young girl who reportedly went missing on November 1, 2018.
The team with “over 60 Search and Rescue members from Kootenai, Bonner, Spokane, and Shoshone County expanded their search areas” to look for Ogle for several days, but got no update. “K9 units and aircraft from Two Bear Air Rescue - Montana and local aircraft provided by the Idaho Civil Air Patrol were used during the search. Area hospitals, medical facilities, bus depots, etc., have also been contacted,” the post mentioned. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to locate the girl. The officers sent word to locals and others to be on the lookout for Ogle.
They also mentioned, “Katie is known to have multiple medical alerts and the cognitive ability of an approximate 10-12-year-old. The KHQ Local News also shared a post on Facebook requesting viewers to be on the lookout for anyone matching the 19-year-old’s description of “5’4” 100 lbs, with green eyes and blonde hair. She was last seen wearing a gray sweatshirt and black pants.” On November 3, when the dad-son duo went hunting, they were approaching their family cabin when they spotted the sign. “My stepfather and I were surprised and in shock when we saw the ‘Help’ sign on the road,” Gordon recounted.
Trumbich had seen posts of Ogle missing two days before their hunting trip and thought it might have been made by her. Gordon and Tumbrich immediately contacted the search crew and assisted them later to the location where they saw the sign, per KREM 2 News. "He (a rescue worker) turns around and yells, 'Hello?' Then, we heard a 'Hello' over the ridge," Trumbich recalled, per KHQ. It was Ogle, alive and fine. The department shared an update revealing that Ogle was found and was okay. “The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office is happy to announce 19-year-old Kathryn 'Katie' Ogle has been found alive just moments ago,” another post read.
“She appears to be in relatively good condition and is being cared for by medical personnel on scene. She will likely be transported to Kootenai Health shortly as a precautionary measure,” it was added. "She looked very scared when she came out, like she was scared she was going to get in trouble and that we were going to yell at her for being in the cabin. Katie, if you're watching this, we're just happy you're alive," Gordon remarked. Having looked for cameras, footage or any evidence of Ogle’s presence anywhere since her missing report, hope was bleak until these two made a keen observation and decided to act on it. Gordon said he was “surprised and so very grateful that we found Katie.”