Family of five rescued from woods after off-track ‘Bear Grylls’ odyssey
The Limerick family’s adventure ended up being a gruelling, cross-country escape through a seemingly never-ending maze of trees, streams and thick hedge growth
The relieved dad went online to publicly thank the emergency services who helped find him and his family after their ordeal in Cratloe Woods, Co Clare, on Monday night.
He admitted he had followed his daughter, who went “off-track” in the middle of the dense wood, located about 10km from Limerick City.
“My little girl just went walkabout under the trees and we stupidly got into Bear Grylls mode going cross-country up and under several obstacles,” he said.
The Coast Guard rescue chopper found the children, aged four, seven and 10, and their parents shortly after midnight — five hours after they had set out on their trek.
The family had been scouring the woodland in the cold and rain for an exit point and finally managed to tell the Coast Guard where they were through a GPS mobile phone signal.
“I knew my location, you couldn’t just walk out of where we were. I accept the foolishness of going off track in this manner,” the father said. “Lessons were learned.
“To get to where we were, we had crossed several streams and climbed under barbed wire and over ridges. We lost our way back and we were hemmed in by thick bushes of gorse and brier and no visibility of a way out.
“We waded into the stream but that was blocked at both ends. We were tired and wet it was getting dark, and with the little battery I had left on my phone, I raised the alarm.”
The rescue chopper “circled overhead for about 45 minutes but they couldn’t even find us with a searchlight and infrared”, he said
“My phone died but I was able to ping them my location just before this,” the man said. “Thank God for the Coast Guard team on the ground. Thanks to them, my family and I are all safe and well.”
A Garda source said: “The family went missing at the Limerick side of the Cratloe Woods. They became disorientated. At around 9.10pm, they rang 999.”
Responding to online criticism, the dad replied: “We went ‘off piste’ quite a bit and we found ourselves in a ‘no man’s land’ hemmed in by streams and thick bushes of gorse and brier. I had my three children with me; night was coming. You would have done the same in my position and raised the alarm.”
He said the family set out at 6.45pm on what was to be an innocent family trek, but it was midnight before they were eventually found.
Gardaí have issued a warning to the public not to get into similar situations. A senior Clare garda said: “If you’re going someplace you’re not familiar with, stick to the normal pathways.”
“As was the case in this scenario, it’s always good to have a mobile phone with you, and make sure it’s charged.”
