Marooned: Tales of the Catastrophically Lost

In 1993, French engineer Émile Leray's Citroën 2CV broke down in the middle of the Moroccan desert. Stranded without any way to call for help, he dismantled the vehicle and rebuilt it into a working motorcycle. For twelve days and nights he lived in the stripped shell of the car  and ate what rations he had while piecing the machine together- to attempt to ride it back to civilization and save him...

On January 8th, 2005, Australian diver David Shaw attempted to retrieve the body of Deon Dreyer, who had died in Bushman's Hole, an 886-foot-deep cave in South Africa in 1994. Shaw ultimately reached the body, but became entangled and died on the cave floor, leaving his friend and support diver, Don Shirely, to fight for survival. Sources: The Guardian: Deepest Sympathy Dave Shaw final dive video...

On May 8, 2019, 35-year-old physical therapist and yoga teacher, Amanda Eller, set off on what she thought would be a hike along a trail in the Makawao Forest Reserve, Hawaii. Part way through the hike, she realised she had become disoriented and lost. Without a cell phone, water bottle, map, or any supplies, she fought to survive in the wilderness, with only intuition to guide her. She was rescue...

On September 20, 2004, a Cessna 206 aircraft crashed while flying to a rural Schafer Meadows airstrip in Montana. Of the five people on board, only two would survive. Burned, injured, and presumed dead, forest service workers Jodee Hogg and Matt Ramige, were left to fight for survival, and descend the treacherous terrain in search of help.  Sources: 'Unacceptable' to quit: woman tells of plane cra...

In August of 2017, experienced hunter and avid outdoorsman, Jeremy Evans, was scouting for sheep in the Alberta Rockies when he spotted a grizzly bear cub through his binoculars. Without warning, he was attacked by a mother grizzly bear from behind resulting in devastating injuries.  Alone in the backwoods of the Canadian wilderness, his face torn, fingers broken, tendons severed, and blood spilli...

In July of 1897, a team of three Swedish men, led by Swedish engineer Salomon August Andrée, climbed aboard the Örnen, a hydrogen balloon set to fly over the north pole in one of the first attempts to explore the Arctic by air. Almost as soon as they set off things began to go awry, and the ill-fated expedition became one of Sweden's greatest mysteries. Sources: The North Star, Thu, Oct 02, 1930 ·...

In 1999, Swedish medical student, Anna Bågenholm, was skiing in Norway with friends when she fell through a frozen stream and became trapped under a thick layer of ice. Unable to free herself, and forced to wait for rescue, her body temperature quickly fell to 13.7°C (56.7°F) and she fell unconscious. 80 minutes later, Bågenholm was brought to the surface by rescuers, clinically dead. But that is...

In June 1973, The Johnson Sea Link, a deep-sea submersible, went on a routine mission off the coast of Florida. The Sea Link quickly became entangled in the cables and debris of a sunken ship. Trapped 360 feet below the surface for over 30 hours, four crew members fought for survival, but only two would make it out alive.  Sources: ENTANGLEMENT OF THE SUBMERSIBLE JOHNSON SEA LINK WITH SUBMERGED WR...

When the going gets tough, the tough get going. A well known phrase that could easily be applied to almost every survival situation. Unfortunately, when it really comes down to it; those who would like to get going can't wait around for anyone else. And that can be tough stuff. Though in this case it was more like "tough shit". To advertise on this podcast please email:  ad-sales@libsyn.com     Or...

When it comes to social media, it is said that many are oversharing. Details of one's life including family members, where they live, and the troubles they are experiencing can be known by hundreds, if not thousands of other people. For some, it helps to make them feel connected by bringing in new followers and friends. Before youtube and instagram they felt isolated and unpopular. The likes and c...

From the moment Vesna Vulović saw her friend wearing a flight attendant uniform she knew the job was for her. Vesna loved travelling to different countries and meeting new people. January 25th, 1972 was a day like any other for flight attendant Vesna Vulovic - she checked her schedule and boarded JAT Flight 367 to Belgrade with a layover in Copenhagen, Denmark. Unbeknownst to the crew and passenge...

Two hikers get lost in a park in Japan and a very large SOS made of birch trees leads rescuers to the pair. But the two hikers swear they had nothing to do with the sign and a subsequent search reveals human remains and a disturbing audio recording left at the scene... Our website: https://visitmarooned.com

It's not unusual for those in their early twenties to want to get out into the world and explore it. Plenty of young people have found themselves backpacking across foreign lands, sleeping in hostels and meeting strangers in strange places, that will become lifelong friends, sharing lifelong memories. But it's dangerous. Let's not forget that. Anything that fits the bill of adventure - must natura...

There are many similarities between the fictional stories of Robinson Crusoe and the Tom Hanks film, Castaway. Man becomes stranded on a deserted island, following a wreck. Man first struggles to survive, before becoming one with his surroundings, and thrives. Man is rescued, and finds himself missing life on the island. But there is one major similarity that is often overlooked, and that is that...

We admire those willing to put themselves in such peril with the interest of exploration and discovery in mind, but with those who choose it for fun? It's hard for the rest of us to wrap our heads around.  Let's take something common. SkyDiving.  It's said you'll never feel so alive! And that's because… you'll never feel so close to certain death. "But it's safe!", they'll say. And to that I respo...

It's always nice to get away for a day, or even a moment, with someone who had a hand in raising you. Buy them lunch. To repay one of those bags of food they prepared you before school. Sit down and listen. Something a child or teenager takes for granted; that someone will always be there to listen. At least for the lucky ones. So how unlucky to take your dad for a trip as a way of thanking him fo...

Taking one last breath is something we all practice as kids, experimenting with how long we can hold out before seeing stars. On September 18th of 2012, saturation diver Chris Lemons found himself in an impossible game of life or death, that went from seeing stars to becoming one in an upcoming feature film.   Please rate and review Marooned on apple podcasts, Spotify, Castbox, or Amazon Music. Th...

Lost on a lava field. Trudging along for days on an ever growing expanse. Mocked by the choppy chuckle of helicopter blades that fly tourists overhead. They're not looking for you. A grey speck on a chalkboard searching for the road you came in on. Searching for signs then searching for water. And finding nothing as easy as it should be. Maybe a torch would attract some attention? But the lava flo...

It's important to know what you're getting into, but in many of life's decisions there's a hard truth of that not being completely possible. Like when joining the United States Armed Forces for instance. No amount of literature or film based on the Army, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, Marine Corps or Coast Guard, can truly prepare one for all that such a career may throw at you. Or into. Or out of....

The idea of pulling a large parachute behind you until the wind catches it, then running down a mountainside until you're swept up into the air… is called paragliding. Some might argue that what was just described sounds more like a nightmare. For professional paraglider, 36 year old Ewa Wisnierska, back in 2007 at the Manilla XC Open - it was a little bit of both.   Please leave us a review! :-)...

Luna and Aaron sit down to discuss drones, the Brian Thompson shooting, as well as look back on more than a year of Marooned. Happy Holidays, everyone. Much love.    

There's a lot to be worried about when out on the ice. Top of mind would be the threat of falling through. There's no more disconcerting a noise than that of a moaning fracture from beneath. Usually it's just the lake suffering some indigestion, but on Michigan's Sturgeon Bay, back in January of 1929, a fisherman trying to snag some food almost became it when the black maw to the growling belly be...

One would think that if they were to become catastrophically lost, stranded - Marooned - that a major improvement to the situation would be if a thousand or so of one's closest buddies could somehow be with them. One would think. But with rations low, and sharks plucking those buddies away one by one like hors d'oeuvres - chumming the waters - one might be better off alone.   Sources: Setting the...

In the summer of 1968, an English newspaper, The Sunday Times, proposed a contest - The Golden Globe Yacht Race - which challenged all comers to attempt the first single handed non-stop circumnavigation of the world. Many entered, but only one man, Robin Knox-Johnson, completed the sail, securing the Golden Globe Trophy and a cash prize of 5000 pounds. This caught the attention of Dougal Robertson...

The family road trip brings to mind an overpacked station wagon, some unimpressed kids in the back, and a couple of adults arguing up front over a comically large map. It's supposed to be a good time but in reality, usually, it's a bit of a nightmare. Especially if dad made a wrong turn. And then another… and it's getting dark.   Marooned has a facebook group! Look us up and interact with us there...