A Palo Alto couple missing since Valentines’s day 2020 was found alive by search teams, according to a tweet by the Mariarine County Sheriff.
The couple, Carol Kiparsky and Ian Irwin from Palo Alto, were visiting Inverness and were last seen on Feb. 14 at an Airbnb that they were renting on the Via de La Vista. They were hiking but got lost in the dark, according to KRON 4. The missing couple was wearing light clothing and Carol was not wearing shoes.
Search and rescue teams, as well as volunteers, went out looking for the couple. On day 6 of the search Saturday, Feb. 22, two volunteers with the Marin Search and Rescue—Quincy Webster and Richard Cassens—and a rescue dog found the couple alive but suffering from hypothermia in rugged, dense woodland.
“We were searching up the drainage from shallow beach—it’s very tough going, it’s very tough drainage. About halfway up, we hear voices. First, we thought it was another team, but then they started yelling help, and we looked at each other, and we thought that’s them,” said Webster.
The couple was rescued by officials and airlifted via the Sonoma Sheriff’s helicopter to an area hospital for recovery. According to the news outlet, the couple was incredibly thankful and appreciative of being found.
Brentin Schneider, the Marin County Sargeant, said that the reason the couple survived for so long was that they found a puddle to drink from.
Upon being discovered, the couple expressed their thanks to all individuals involved in the search.
“They are in great spirits and want to thank every single person who has kept them in their thoughts,” according to a tweet from the Marin County Sheriff’s Office.
Once the couple was reported as missing, search parties formed in an effort to find them. The Twitter of Marin County Sheriff’s Office detailed the attempts to find the couple. KRON 4 reported that the search mission had become a recovery mission some time into the search for the couple.
It was believed that the couple might have taken a fall, but continued to hike, according to the news outlet.
Also, as indicated by the news outlet, the couple were experienced hikers, so that may have come into play in their survival through the cold conditions.
Volunteers from the local town were very glad to hear the good news, according to the news outlet.
‘There was something in their background knowledge to be able to seek shelter and refuge, and the fact that they’re still alive is just a wonderful miraculous thing,” said Alex Porrata, a person who came out into the area to enjoy nature.
