Blog Post: Local Boy Scouts Rescue Lost Marine

When Assistant Scoutmaster, Lissa Funk, emphasized to her troop the importance of being prepared and following the buddy system, she never dreamed the point would be driven home as effectively as it was when a lost Marine from Twentynine Palms, Calif. stumbled into Troop 650’s camp in the San Jacinto Mountains.

For most of the Scouts in this two-year-old troop based out of Claremont, this was their first backpacking trip, and likely one they will never forget.

It was Saturday, Oct. 29, and at 7 p.m. it was already getting dark. The nighttime temperature would eventually get down to the low 40’s. Fifteen minutes later, as Funk was getting into her sleeping bag, 21-year-old Marine Caleb Staffer approached the campers.

“He was by himself; he got separated from his buddy and he only had the shirt on his back,” said Funk. “He didn’t have a jacket; he didn’t have any water, no backpack, no map and compass, no Ten Essentials whatsoever, nothing— nothing at all. Everything we tell our boys to do, he didn’t do.”

Up for a day hike, with an agreement to meet his buddy at a point up the trail, Staffer had gotten lost and found the group after seeing their headlamps.

He wanted to get directions from them and continue back down the trail. After hearing his tale, the leaders realized that was a bad idea.

“From the main trail to our camp he said he had gotten lost five times, so we weren’t going to let him go back at that point,” said Funk. According to her, he appeared to be more concerned with the ribbing he would receive from his buddy than his own personal safety.

Fortunately, former Marine and Scout parent, Pete Lomas, was able to convince Staffer to stay the night. The Troop then pulled together to get him supplies. They gave him water, fed him dinner, and gave him a tent, a silk sleeping bag liner, some emergency blankets, jackets and a cap. The next morning he was anxious to be heading out. The Scouts again gave him some provisions including a map and compass, but when he appeared to be heading in the wrong direction, Lomas decided to go down with him and hike him out to safety.

The night before, Funk was able to send her husband a text with her new Spot GPS system which has a 41-character message bar: “Call Rangers, lost hiker Caleb safe w/ us,” the message said, and with that information he contacted the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department who, according to Funk, alerted the Twentynine Palms Marine base that Staffer, reported lost by his friend, had been found.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department confirmed that Staffer was escorted down by the Scouts and interviewed by sheriffs at the lower tram of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway where he awaited transportation back to the base. “He was in good condition, with no ill effects,” said Sergeant Borja.

In their recap of the trip the following morning, Funk explained to the boys the domino effect that bad decisions can have. They recognized right away the two mistakes that led to the Marine’s predicament: Not having any supplies, much less the Boy Scout Ten Essentials; and separating from his hiking partner.

“We had already been explaining this the week before we went backpacking,” said Funk. “Everything you need to carry, and use the buddy system…So this was an excellent learning experience for them that it doesn’t matter how old you are, or how much training you have, you still need to follow the rules of outdoor safety we teach in Scouting.”