Mom grew uneasy after a brief trail chat with a woman hiker — her 911 call in the next few days saved the hiker's life
A hiker named Katharina Groene is alive because of a mom, Nancy Abell, per CBS News. The duo, initially complete strangers, met along the Pacific Crest Trail in Washington State. They struck a chord with their conversations but had to part ways. Groene shared her plans of trailing further by herself with the mom, who immediately had her motherly instincts kick in. Despite her effort to caution the young woman, Groene went her way. A few days later, Abell made a call and it was the only thing that saved the hiker’s life in time.
Abell was on her way back from a one-day hike, when she saw Groene making her way to the area, per KOMO News. "I think I said, ‘Are you going to Stevens Pass?’ And I think I said, ‘Do you need a ride?’ And she said ‘Yes," Abell recalled. The mom made a stop and chanced upon the young woman and learned of her plans to continue the trek up alone. She was not too happy after learning of Groene’s plans as she had an idea of the weather and didn’t find it safe. Having hiked around herself a day before, she knew somewhat that the hiker could have problems. The mom had an interaction with the hiker for a few hours, trying her best to talk her out of it.
"She was from Germany. She had no idea what she was getting into. I told her, 'If you were my daughter, I wouldn't let you do this,'" Abell recalled. Nevertheless, the woman was persistent and decided to go on. The duo went their separate ways but Abell couldn’t stop thinking of the young woman out there by herself. Additionally, knowing about the weather conditions was more worrisome. "I just kept thinking about her being up there by herself. And I knew what it was going to be like,” the mom remarked. She spent the next few days carefully watching the weather in Groene’s region. However, she couldn’t hold herself back any longer and decided to call 911 on a worrisome hunch.
Abell told the dispatcher about Groene and her hiking in the precarious area. She said that she was at risk over there and would likely need help. She convinced the dispatchers to send for assistance and they made their way to Groene’s route. Call it a mother’s heart or a concerned and thoughtful precaution, Abell was right. Groene suffered a horrible reality on her route — she lost her gloves, went short on food and nearly gave up. The woman even thought she was going to die all alone. “I informed my parents. Apologized for dying on the PCT, for risking too much," Grone said.
Snohomish County Volunteer Search & Rescue’s Chief Pilot, Bill Quistorf, who went to look for Groene, said it was not an easy task. "I was about ready to give up and my fuel was getting low and I thought, ‘We gotta try one more time,’” the chief recalled. They finally found the hiker, frostbit, in dire need of warmth and help, with reportedly a day to live. Had the crew not gone there, Groene would have lost her life and regretted her decision of not heeding Abell’s kind caveat. The hiker was eventually taken back and met the mom. She was even invited to stay with Abell until she could go back to Germany. Groene is ever grateful for Abell who “restored faith in humanity.”