WEBVTT

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<v Speaker 1>Unseen with a twenty five year old male that was

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<v Speaker 1>found playing in a smell bank. The cower temperature would

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<v Speaker 1>not register with a Satanic thermometer. All signs lead to

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<v Speaker 1>leaders to believe that he's been dead for a considerable

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<v Speaker 1>amount of.

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<v Speaker 2>Time, given his age and the fact that he has

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<v Speaker 2>induced typothermia. I don't feel comfortable technically to call him.

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<v Speaker 2>I know, I know where we're going. This is probably

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<v Speaker 2>going to be a futile effort, but I think we

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<v Speaker 2>need to do our best for him.

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<v Speaker 3>This morning, twenty six year old Justin Smith is grateful

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<v Speaker 3>to be alive after nearly freezing to death. I started

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<v Speaker 3>shaking his head. No, no, you can't leave me, You

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<v Speaker 3>can't leave me. Last February, Don Smith found his son

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<v Speaker 3>unconscious in a snow bank. He'd been there overnight where

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<v Speaker 3>temperatures had dipped to four degrees below zero next to night.

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<v Speaker 4>To an incredible survival story, a lost hiker found by

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<v Speaker 4>search teams in wide out conditions on Mount Rainier in

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<v Speaker 4>Washington State, his pulse then flatlining at the hospital for

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<v Speaker 4>forty five minutes tonight. The dramatic action doctors took to

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<v Speaker 4>save his life and what he's now.

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<v Speaker 5>Saying back from the dead when I.

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<v Speaker 4>Woke up and didn't comprehend what had happened.

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<v Speaker 5>Hiker Michael Nepinsky was lifeless when Navy crews found him

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<v Speaker 5>in Mount Rainier National Park last weekend, lost overnight in

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<v Speaker 5>below freezing conditions.

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<v Speaker 3>Just complete wide out.

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<v Speaker 5>The rescue team flew him to Harbor View Medical Center

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<v Speaker 5>in Seattle when his pulse stopped, doctors jumping into action,

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<v Speaker 5>administering CPR after forty five long minutes, finally jumpstarting his heart.

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<v Speaker 4>I'm extremely grateful everybody here at the hospital for not

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<v Speaker 4>giving up on me. I'm alive and breathing, and.

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<v Speaker 6>Hello friends, and welcome to our latest video, Tales of Survival.

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<v Speaker 6>In this video, we'll cover people who were frozen solid

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<v Speaker 6>and survived. Now, as we all know, six hundred thousand

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<v Speaker 6>people go missing in the United States alone every year.

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<v Speaker 6>Of those six hundred thousand, between eighty nine and ninety

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<v Speaker 6>two percent of them are found, whether it be deceased

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<v Speaker 6>or live. Many people will see those statistics and think

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<v Speaker 6>that's quite a high rate of recovery, and it just

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<v Speaker 6>might be. But think about this. Of the people found deceased,

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<v Speaker 6>many are found under quite unusual circumstances in inexplicable ways.

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<v Speaker 6>That's what we're here to discuss today. Of those people

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<v Speaker 6>who are found in those bizarre and precarious situations, I'm

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<v Speaker 6>talking about those unfortunate people who are found deceased, who

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<v Speaker 6>were literally frozen. If you stop and think about this,

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<v Speaker 6>you'll be forced to consider the unimaginable being lost in

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<v Speaker 6>the wilderness, taking your last breath of life and thinking

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<v Speaker 6>you are slowly freezing to death, wondering if anyone is

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<v Speaker 6>ever going to find your body. This is not only

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<v Speaker 6>an absolutely horrific thought, but an even more nightmarish faith.

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<v Speaker 6>The cases we're going to be reviewing today have had

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<v Speaker 6>to face this nightmare for real. Trying to imagine their

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<v Speaker 6>horror and dread is probably a feudal task. So let's

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<v Speaker 6>take a few minutes to hear the incredible stories of

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<v Speaker 6>survival and thank goodness they were found in time. The

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<v Speaker 6>first story comes from Langby. It's an extremely small town

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<v Speaker 6>in Minnesota in the United States. As of twenty ten,

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<v Speaker 6>there were only eighty six people comprised of forty four

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<v Speaker 6>households and twenty four families living in this tiny dot

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<v Speaker 6>on the map. The city has a total area of

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<v Speaker 6>zero point to two nine square miles, and if you

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<v Speaker 6>were driving through it and happened to blink, you might

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<v Speaker 6>just miss it. There is one thing, though, that makes

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<v Speaker 6>Lingby extremely interesting to folks like us in this community,

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<v Speaker 6>we who are the seekers of anything strange, odd and curious.

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<v Speaker 6>On the night of December twenty, nineteen eighty, a nineteen

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<v Speaker 6>year old young woman named Jean Hilliard was driving along

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<v Speaker 6>a winding road heading home at around midnight from meeting

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<v Speaker 6>some friends in town. She decided to take what she

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<v Speaker 6>thought would be a shortcut through a gravel road to which,

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<v Speaker 6>in the middle of winter and the dead of night

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<v Speaker 6>in rural Minnesota, was also extremely icy. Her car ended

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<v Speaker 6>up slipping off the road and running straight into a ditch.

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<v Speaker 6>She was driving her father's to Ford Ltd. Which had

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<v Speaker 6>rear wheel drive and no antilock brakes. Now, the temperature

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<v Speaker 6>was pretty usual for that time of the year, twenty

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<v Speaker 6>degrees below zero fahrenheit. Jean decided to get out of

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<v Speaker 6>the car and walk in her cowboy boots no less

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<v Speaker 6>to where she thought a friend of hers lived, figuring

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<v Speaker 6>she could get him to help her. She explains that

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<v Speaker 6>she was more frustrated than scared because she would keep

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<v Speaker 6>on thinking her friend was just over the hill. But

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<v Speaker 6>once she would get to the top of that hill

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<v Speaker 6>and look down, she wouldn't see anything familiar, including her

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<v Speaker 6>friend's place, And so it went Jean would keep on

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<v Speaker 6>walking over hill after he, with every single step thinking helpless,

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<v Speaker 6>just over the next one. Finally, about two miles later,

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<v Speaker 6>Jean said she saw her destination right ahead of her

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<v Speaker 6>through some trees, then everything went black. What she doesn't

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<v Speaker 6>remember and later had to be told, was that she

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<v Speaker 6>did in fact make it right to her friend's doorstep.

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<v Speaker 6>Once she got to his yard, though she had tripped.

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<v Speaker 6>Being as cold as she was, she couldn't stand back

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<v Speaker 6>up and walk, so she crawled on her hands and

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<v Speaker 6>knees to his front door. Before she could alert anyone

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<v Speaker 6>to her presence, however, she lost consciousness and there she

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<v Speaker 6>lay for six whole hours in the frigid and below

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<v Speaker 6>freezing temperatures of a normal Minnesota winter's night. She was

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<v Speaker 6>found six hours later on that same friend's porch, the

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<v Speaker 6>exact same spot she had passed out, with her eyes

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<v Speaker 6>wide open, as frozen as a log. Jean's friend, Wally Nelson, said,

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<v Speaker 6>who was a cattle and part time butcher, who had

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<v Speaker 6>an accident of his own when he was younger, got

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<v Speaker 6>kicked in the head by a horse, which knocked one

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<v Speaker 6>of his eyes loose. He remembers that night and finding

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<v Speaker 6>Jean there in that horrific condition, as if it were

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<v Speaker 6>only yesterday. He recalls, I was so damn surprised when

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<v Speaker 6>I saw that little lunk out in the yard. I

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<v Speaker 6>grabbed her for the collar and skidded her into the porch.

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<v Speaker 6>I thought she was dead, froze stiffer than a board,

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<v Speaker 6>but I saw a few bubbles coming out of her nose.

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<v Speaker 6>Wally said. Wally and Jean were friends because she was

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<v Speaker 6>dating his best friend at the time, whose name was Paul.

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<v Speaker 6>As a matter of fact, he'd just been hanging out

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<v Speaker 6>with Paul and Jean the night before when they went

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<v Speaker 6>out dancing and drinking in a little hole in the

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<v Speaker 6>wall spot the only spot within driving distance considering the weather.

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<v Speaker 6>Wally had actually met a woman that same night and

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<v Speaker 6>took her home with him. Imagine how awkward the next

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<v Speaker 6>morning when he had to ask her to help him

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<v Speaker 6>load the frozen body of his friend. They were just

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<v Speaker 6>out having some fun with the night before, but that's

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<v Speaker 6>exactly how it happened. According to Wali, The pair drove

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<v Speaker 6>Jeane to nearby Foston Hospital, where the doctors admitted they

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<v Speaker 6>thought the situation was grim. They couldn't even get an

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<v Speaker 6>IV into Jeane's arm because of how frozen it was.

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<v Speaker 6>The needles were actually breaking at the touch of her

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<v Speaker 6>frigid skin. Despite the doctors and hospital staff thinking she

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<v Speaker 6>was pretty much as good as dead already, they decided

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<v Speaker 6>to take a chance, warm her up as best they

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<v Speaker 6>could and pray for a miracle. Literally, a member of

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<v Speaker 6>the hospital staff decided to call her pastor to get

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<v Speaker 6>a prayer chain started. For Gene Heillier, a miracle is

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<v Speaker 6>what was needed, and a miracle is exactly what it

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<v Speaker 6>seemed to be too, as by the next morning Jeane

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<v Speaker 6>had woken up. Her body was in excruciating pain all

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<v Speaker 6>over and spasming, but she was indeed alive. By noon

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<v Speaker 6>that day, she was even speaking incoherent sentences. In less

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<v Speaker 6>than five hours, she was feeling well enough to Her

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<v Speaker 6>biggest concern, now remember she was a teenager, was that

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<v Speaker 6>her dad would be angry when he found out she

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<v Speaker 6>had driven his Ford Ltd. Into a ditch. Minnesota professor

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<v Speaker 6>of medicine and the man who worked on Jean, says

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<v Speaker 6>that over the past ten years or so, he has

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<v Speaker 6>seen approximately twelve cases very similar to this. He said,

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<v Speaker 6>we have patience you can knock on like wood. They

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<v Speaker 6>feel rock solid frozen. That in no way dissuades us

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<v Speaker 6>from the resuscitation attempt, and we do have a track

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<v Speaker 6>record of success with that. He also states the dictum

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<v Speaker 6>is that no one is dead until they're warm and dead.

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<v Speaker 6>It became even more sensational when the doctors informed the

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<v Speaker 6>media in public that they were very close to amputating

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<v Speaker 6>both of Jean's legs in order to avoid infection setting

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<v Speaker 6>in from all the frost bite. This was unbelievable though,

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<v Speaker 6>because when it was all said and done, she went

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<v Speaker 6>home with nothing more than a few blisters on her toes.

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<v Speaker 6>Jean said she doesn't know why this miraculous event happened

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<v Speaker 6>to her, as her life had been very normal. She

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<v Speaker 6>went on to marry, have kids, divorced, and now works

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<v Speaker 6>at Walmart. She does, however, make sure she is never

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<v Speaker 6>out driving at night when the ice heat Minnesota winter

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<v Speaker 6>weather kicks in for the season. Our next story is

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<v Speaker 6>about a young man named Justin Smith. Twenty six year

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<v Speaker 6>old Justin Smith was walking home from what he thought

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<v Speaker 6>was a typical night hanging out and having some drinks

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<v Speaker 6>with friends when his life took a turn for the

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<v Speaker 6>incredibly miraculous. On February twentieth, twenty fifteen, at around nine

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<v Speaker 6>thirty p m. The Pennsylvania native thought he was just

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<v Speaker 6>going home for the night. Unfortunately, however, he tripped and

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<v Speaker 6>fell into the snow. It was five degrees below zero

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<v Speaker 6>and snowing pretty hard when his father went out looking

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<v Speaker 6>for him when he hadn't returned home when he was

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<v Speaker 6>supposed to. As he was walking along the familiar streets

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<v Speaker 6>of the route his son would have had to have

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<v Speaker 6>taken in order to have walked home, he saw the

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<v Speaker 6>boots first, poking out of a small snow mound that

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<v Speaker 6>had collected onto his son's body. He says, I looked

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<v Speaker 6>over and Justin was just laying there. He was blue,

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<v Speaker 6>his face was lifeless. I checked for pulse, I checked

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<v Speaker 6>for a heartbeat, but there was nothing. As it turned out,

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<v Speaker 6>Justin had been lying on the side of that empty

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<v Speaker 6>and desolate road where he had fallen for a bit

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<v Speaker 6>longer than twelve hours. When emergency services first arrived, They

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<v Speaker 6>too could find no signs of life and made the

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<v Speaker 6>assumption that Justin had frozen to death. David went so

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<v Speaker 6>far as to lay a white sheet over his frozen body. Then,

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<v Speaker 6>as the state police took over and started to work

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<v Speaker 6>the investigation into Justin's death, which admittedly seemed to be

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<v Speaker 6>pretty cut and dry, the corner was called out to

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<v Speaker 6>the scene as well. Justin's father, Don Smith, who had

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<v Speaker 6>found him, had even had to make the devastating phone

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<v Speaker 6>call to his wife, Justin's mother, and break the unimaginable

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<v Speaker 6>and heartbreaking news to her, the news no mother should

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<v Speaker 6>ever have to hear their son was dead, frozen to

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<v Speaker 6>death on the side of a dark and lonely road. However,

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<v Speaker 6>when Justin's body was transported to the hospital in the

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<v Speaker 6>early morning hours of February twenty first, the doctor on duty,

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<v Speaker 6>a doctor Coleman, had a completely different train of thought altogether.

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<v Speaker 6>He said, my clinical thought was very simple, you have

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<v Speaker 6>to be warm to be dead. The doctor did something

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<v Speaker 6>quite unorthodox and ordered the paramedics to start performing CPR

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<v Speaker 6>on a lifeless man who had no puls or heartbeat.

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<v Speaker 6>He also had no blood pressure and it was presumed

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<v Speaker 6>he had taken his last breath the day before. According

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<v Speaker 6>to the National Post Online, when a person's body chills

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<v Speaker 6>at the right rate, the associated slowing of metabolic processes

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<v Speaker 6>will protect him from the other effects of exposure. Their

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<v Speaker 6>lethargic cells don't require as much oxygen, so the fact

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<v Speaker 6>that their heart is slowed and their breathing stop is

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<v Speaker 6>dangerous but not necessarily deadly. These people hang in a

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<v Speaker 6>state of sort of a suspended animation, almost seeming dead

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<v Speaker 6>by all the standard measures, but not irreversibly gone. He

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<v Speaker 6>continues now for almost two whole hours. Paramedics and hospital

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<v Speaker 6>emergency personnel, going on doctor Coleman's orders, continued to pump

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<v Speaker 6>Justin's chest and even gave breath into his open mouth

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<v Speaker 6>until he was able to be flown, even in the

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<v Speaker 6>treacherous snowstorm still blazing outside, to another hospital more equipped

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<v Speaker 6>to handle this very unique situation. Once he finally arrived

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<v Speaker 6>at this hospital, which was in Allentown, Pennsylvania, by a

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<v Speaker 6>life flight helicopter, doctors there pumped Justin full of warm

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<v Speaker 6>oxygenated blood using a treatment called ECMO extracrporeal membrane oxygenation.

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<v Speaker 6>Early on that evening as the sun went down. That

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<v Speaker 6>was the same sun that was just coming up when

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<v Speaker 6>he had been found by his own father and pronounced

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<v Speaker 6>dead by emergency workers and even a corner Justin Smith's

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<v Speaker 6>hart miraculously finally began to beat on its own again.

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<v Speaker 6>Though a miracle in itself, no one, not even the

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<v Speaker 6>doctors treating him, were prepared for Justin to make anywhere

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<v Speaker 6>near full recovery, as they were understandably worried about what

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<v Speaker 6>all of the lack of oxygen would do to his

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<v Speaker 6>burn function. However, as miracles sometimes go, Justin made a

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<v Speaker 6>full and complete recovery and his back to living his

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<v Speaker 6>normal life again. Surprisingly, he had no long term or

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<v Speaker 6>ongoing problems due to this accident and incredible brush with

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<v Speaker 6>death all those years ago. Michael Nepenske, forty five year

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<v Speaker 6>old Michael Nepenske of Woodenville, Washington, went on a hike

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<v Speaker 6>in Mount Rainier with a friend on November seventh, twenty twenty.

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<v Speaker 6>The two decided to separate below the Mirror snowfield, with

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<v Speaker 6>Michael snow showing to Paradise and his friend continuing on

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<v Speaker 6>skis to Camp Muhr. They were going to meet up

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<v Speaker 6>at a designated time down near Paradise, close to where

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<v Speaker 6>Michael was heading to. Suddenly and seemingly out of nowhere,

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<v Speaker 6>Michael reports the weather into extreme whiteout conditions, which prohibited

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<v Speaker 6>him from being able to see even an inch in

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<v Speaker 6>front of his face. Obviously, this made it impossible for

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<v Speaker 6>him to go any further. He recalls taking very small

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<v Speaker 6>and easy steps to get himself slowly down the mountain

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<v Speaker 6>while still seeing nothing but the white out conditions ahead

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<v Speaker 6>of him. This is the last thing he remembers before

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<v Speaker 6>becoming confused about the next course of events. He says

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<v Speaker 6>he thinks he fell, but can't be sure, as he

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<v Speaker 6>totally blacked out and has no memory of what actually

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<v Speaker 6>occurred while he was blindly snowshoeing through the blizzard conditions.

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<v Speaker 6>Needless to say, Michael didn't make it back to meet

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<v Speaker 6>his friend near Paradise that evening and was reported as missing.

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<v Speaker 6>Three National Park search teams went out and conducted full

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<v Speaker 6>searches of the area throughout the night, and because the

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<v Speaker 6>temperatures being sixteen degrees fahrenheit and the white out causing

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<v Speaker 6>minimal to no visibility, the searches were called off for

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<v Speaker 6>the night early Sunday morning, however, the search teams went

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<v Speaker 6>back out to look for Michael. Though everyone's thoughts were

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<v Speaker 6>grim and thinking the worst at this point because of

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<v Speaker 6>the he weathered too, the aerial searches weren't able to

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<v Speaker 6>be started until late Sunday afternoon, nearly twenty four hours

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<v Speaker 6>after Michael had been reported as missing by his concerned friend.

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<v Speaker 6>Helicopter searchers finally found Michael Nepinsk in the Nisqually River drainage,

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<v Speaker 6>and by the time foot searchers got to him about

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<v Speaker 6>an hour after he was first sighted, he was unconscious.

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<v Speaker 6>He had a pulse, though weak as it was when

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<v Speaker 6>he reached the hospital, but went into cardiac arrest very

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<v Speaker 6>shortly after arriving. The doctors began using the most advanced

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<v Speaker 6>form of artificial life support available, which included bypassing his

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<v Speaker 6>heart and lungs miraculously or some say coincidentally due the

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<v Speaker 6>location where he went missing and all the strangeness surrounding

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<v Speaker 6>Mountaineer itself, Michael was legally deceased for forty five minutes,

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<v Speaker 6>yet was able to be brought back to life with

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<v Speaker 6>no long term negative effects, although he remained unconscious for

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<v Speaker 6>two days after his heart started beating again. Michael did

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<v Speaker 6>wake up and come back to life, suffering some frostbite

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<v Speaker 6>and bruises and scratches, all which will heal. So what

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<v Speaker 6>do you think of these stories? Isn't that amazing? Sometimes

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<v Speaker 6>the body can surprise us. Just the very will to

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<v Speaker 6>live that the body seems to have inherent in it

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<v Speaker 6>can go a long way toward recovery. I look forward

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<v Speaker 6>to reading your comments on this. Please remember to keep

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<v Speaker 6>it friendly. Meanwhile, be good yourselves and each other, and

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<v Speaker 6>I'll see you just a little farther on down the road.

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<v Speaker 6>I'm Steve Stockton, and I'll talk to you next time.