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This program contains dramatic re-enactments and material
that may be disturbing to some audience members viewer discretion is advised
one sudden slip along a Diesel canyon trail
puts world champion adventure athelte danelle ballengee at the mercy of the utah wildness
i was in the middle of no where and no body knew where i was
her legs useless she is forced to crawl for every inch
To Try and escape the unforgiven desert
I thought i was gonna die
but she'll also need the help of her best frend
!go
if she's to win this ultimate Survival test
The battle for her own life
(Trapped in the canyon)
!help
help me
(the events in this film took place over 3 days in utah,USA)
go find me out
this is my last chance
(this is a true story)
day 1
it was December 13 -2006
and i was at my house in moab
the Winter season was approaching
And I was one to get in shape for the snow show , Racing Season ..
and also to compete in some Winner triathlons
Ouh Hey Taz
Give me a minute okay ?
just give me a minute
so i was to head on a two or two and a half hours run
and i kinda had one of my favorite loops in mind
i hadn't done this loop in a while
ok, all right
ok, I get the message
all right , let's go
one of the world's premiere extreme sports atheltes, Danelle is known for her staggering feets of endurance in adventure racing
single and living alone
her constant compainion is her dog taz
i got taz from puppy rescue
i remember going to the shelter
and there was several puppies there
this one puppy sort of stood out
- hi
- because he was energetic and he like to run around and he was hyper and he had this real playful attitude
about him
that i liked, i sort of connected with that
look at this one -
you are cute -
and i remember some other lady went up to Taz , and was holding him
and i looked at this lady, "that's my dog", he wasn't my dog just yet you know but i just knew that he was the one
and then I kinda kept an eye on this lady, while she was playing with taz and as soon as she sit
him down I snatched him up and I said I want this one
There was something that drew me to taz that I knew he
was the one for me
I need you to help me
an this mid-December morning Danelle was planning a routine training run, through Moab's backcountry
a beautiful but rugged wilderness
where a few people ever go
It was a sunny day but it was cool probably
temperature's in thirties
around 30's degree Fahrenheit
I had my kayok on top of my truck hopefully planning on going kayoking later that afternoon
I didn't see any bikers, or hikers out just my self and taz
come on taz
I had absolutely no idea that my life was gonna completly change , that day
come on boy
despite its beauty the backcountry surrounding moab can be hustle and dangerous
just in a last month two men have fallen victim to the deadly terrain
found frozen to death in the bitter cold desert night
search and rescue teams are regularly called out to save hikers in distress
but Danelle is fearless six times the winner of the U.S athlete of the year
she thrives on pushing herself to the limit in the most extrem
i was actually in pretty good physical condition
that i usually could push myself right to the limit of pain but not quite go over it
and that actually almost feels good like you get into the rhythm you get into the flow
Shout for that
Danelle's trainning road is not marked on any map
and with every step she's heading further into uncharted territory
all of a sudden the next thing i know taz was ahead of me and my foot slipped out from under me
i almost immediately i knew that i was in trouble because i couldn't stop
and i was moving fast at that point
and then in the last 20 feet were an over-hung , free-fall
i definetely had time to see my life kinda spin through my head and think about maybe i wasn't gonna see another day
and then boom
Oh My god i'm still alive
i didn't know what i'd done to myself but i knew that i had hurt myself really bad
it's a herroundous fall , the impact had shattered danelle's pelves into pieces
leaving her skeleton , severed in two with nothing but soft tissue connecting her legs to the rest of her body
super athelete Danelle goes into survival mode
somehow my brain didn't allow it soft to think so deeply about what had happened
Despite her terrible injury Danelle's endurance trainning kicks in and she's determine to keep moving
so what i did was i took my right hand and put it on my right leg and my left hand and put it on my left leg
and i could feel my legs and so i knew that i wasn't paralyzed
my next reaction was i gotta get out of this canyon
i gotta get back to my truck
and i gotta get home or i gotta get to the hospital
incrediblly despite her shattered pelves the endurance athelete tries to stand up and run out of the canyon
but with her skeleton effectively in half
Danelle's legs can not support hrt body
unable to run or walk
she's facing her worst nightmare
with no one aware she's gone out running
seperated from her dog taz
she's stranded alone on a ledge of thousands square miles of wilderness
During a Trainning run in a remote utah canyon world's champion adventure Racer Danelle' Ballenge
Slips and plum at 60 feet onto solid rock smashing her pelves into pieces
her legs usless She's stranded on a Ledge
seperated from her dog taz
Danelle is alone in thousand square miles of barring an inhabiting wilderness
i knew that i needed to get outta that canyon the temperatre were cold
and it was the middle of winter but i couldn't stand up, i couldn't walk
so i just started dragging myself
with her skeleton broken in two , shattered at the pelves
Danelle's critically injured
most normal people would be in an agony
but super fit athlete Danelle is Experiencing in innermost adrenalin Surge masking the pain
but the problem for danelle now is which direction to go
she has no idea if there is a safe way down from the ledge
- taz comes to danelle Rescue
- come on, there you are, here
she is no longer alone but taz's appearance brings more than just comfort
Since he had gotten to where i landed i knew that there was a route out
so i used him as my guide and i kinda dragged myself where he went
umm along the shelf and then back down to the bottom of the canyon
with Incredible Determination Danelle Follows Taz to the bottom of the canyon
and now plans to pull herself back to her truck
but it's the Adrenaline Surge wears off
the pain's starting to take a whole
i take all my energy to sort of drag myself an inch
and then i would .. the pain would be so bad .. i'd have to regroup
and try it again
Time is working against danelle
She knows the dangers of this roam wildernes
and that if she doesn't reach safety by night fall the sub freezing temperature
could kill her
but her progress is excruciatingly slow
at one point i looked back at my track so i could see where i dragged myself through canyon
it took me probably two and a half hours just to get to the bottom dragging myself inch by inch
and then it took me maybe two or three minutes to walk up
the only comfort danelle has is her dog constant companianship
Taz was with me this whole time
i think he probably realized
that i was injured
i think he was wondering why
i was going so slow
as the winter sunsets the temperature is dropping below freezing
Daylight is fading fast
and with it any chances of getting out of the canyon before night fall
despite danelle's super human efforts
she is far from safety
too tired to go on she stops for the night
but she knows that this desert has a habit of claiming victims in the hours of darkness
it was comforting having taz there
then i also knew that if there is to be a the caotie here
something that was to come in to the canyon he would bark and scare the wild animals away
but taz's presence won't save her from the bitter cold of the savage desert night
with the injuries to my mid-section it was a little bit uncomfortable
if he got too close to me cause it would kinda move my bones around
with hours to go before dawn the temperature is already well below freezing and it is still falling
it was bone chilling
you know i'd be like laying in a freezer
um my fever frozen *** frost pit
exposure to the cold is causing Danelle's body to shut off the blood supply to her extremities
to protect her vital inner organs
Frostbite could climb her fingers and toes
but it's only the first stage in the onset of hypothermia
and i knew that when is start to get too cold the brain will shut down
which is a symptom of hypothermia
With winter temperatures plunging into the 20's in the moab Desert
Danelle Draws on her athletic training to help her survive the night
despite her fractured pelvis
Danelle Starts to do crunches
to keep herself warm
i was almost just used to lift my head up and my shoulders up but i couldn't do a full set up
because i didn't have any movement my med section
it take's a super human effort that's almost too much for her
and then i sort of deficit and i was became tired and am i said to my self i gotta find
a pace that i could maintain
through the entire night
danelle forces her self to do one setup every 5 Seconds Non-stop
over the next 6 Hours
it's an extraordinary challenge but it's the only way she'll stay alive
I know if i fell asleep i would've died hypothermia
and i knew if i stop doing that crunches that i would've died hypothermia
in an incredible feed of physical endurance in mental stamina
Danelle wills herself to survive in freezing conditions
day 2
when most people would have likely given up
Danelle has made it throught the night by doing setups
in the morning she has no time to rest she intense to crawl her way 2 miles back to her truck
i thought that it would be no problem for me continue dragging my self
and what i didn't know is that the adrenaline had gotten me Through those first five hours right after the accident
Danelle is in for Terrible shock
the adrenaline that protected her has completely worn off
now if she is to survive she must face her ordeal with no defense against the pain fladding through out her body
after surviving a night in the sub freezing brutal desert cold
super athelte Danelle Ballengee
now intense to drag herself to safety
despite a fracture pelvis
I tried to move , it was just drought\brought my whole body extroceing pain
and on top the physical pain was the mental pain of being stuck there
now i would rather had twenty people around me hit me with the hammer
that would be better then what i was going through
that's when i started to think somebody's gotta notice that i am missing
I thought maybe someone will notice my truck
it's still parked there
no one is looking for Danelle
no one knows she is missing
she is completely alone
help
help
it's nearly 24 hours since her devastating fall
and Danelle is facing a new danger dehydration
I was aware of ??? to get dehydrated
with her fresh water supply gone only small puddle by her side is helping
her stay alive
but it was really a struggle to drink
from that water source
was hard to get the water into my water bottle and into me
there is a lot of salt in it
easy for you
wild water can help keep her alive it also carries a risk
i didn't wanna drink too much because if i pee my self then the risk hyperthermia would've been worse
cause it was so cold out there
urinating would wet her clothing, in the better cold it would freez
speeding up the unseat of hyperthermia only Danelle's will power has
prevented it from already happening
as the day were zone the risk posed by the better cold lingers but a new threat a merges
inside her body Danelle's injury has taken a lethal turn for the worse
I started to feel this inflammation
in my mid section and it's was kinda soft and squishy
and I remember if I tried move this whole jolly role went sort of move
almost like a water balloon or something
i remember thinking at the time "oh it's inflammation
it's not inflammation it's far worse
Danelle shattered pelvis has severed blood vessels in her pelva cavity
she is been bleeding internally for a day and a half
starving her brain and other major organs of the vidle
of the fiddle oxygen they need for her to survive
Danelle is bleeding to death
unable to move and facing another night in freezing temperatures
Danelle was finding it much harder to stay in control
she struggles to do her setups
worse still she is begining to
Hallucinate becuase of blood loss and fatigue
I remember looking at up to the stars
and some of them being vivid stars
where i can see them walk a way
all I could see was these stripes in the sky
second night was a lot harder than first night taz kinda cuddled there next to me
and then the second night he didn't want to
he'd come and check on me if he didn't cuddled there next to me
he just kinda looked at me like
you know
or what he's doing right in there..
But i don't think he knew what to do either
he probably was , maybe he was thinking should i leave and go get some dog food
you know and take care of myself
or should i stay here with her
second night felt a lot colder to me too
you know felt long and cold
as The night wears on Danelle's fighting for her life
it's taking every ounce of will power to avoid driffting of the sleep
with the ounce of hyperthermia would lead to certain Death
Help
and i still keep hoping ... somebody would notice that i was missing
the reality situation was that i was in the middle of no where, and nobody knew where i was
!help
!help
it's been two day since Danelle ballengee smashed her to pelvis in terrible fall
stranded in a thousand square miles of uninhabited wilderness
with no one looking for her
Danelle's condition is deteriorating fast
day 3
thanks to her endurance training and extraordinary willpower
danelle has survived a second night in the sub freezing winter desert
we're lasting one night is considered cheating death
but it's unlikely she will survive another
three pints of blood have seat into her pelvic cavity
and she is becoming much weaker
and that long around my mid- section it was blood I couldn't see it becuse
result internal
but I was loosing a lot blood
I didn't wanna die ,
and I had get out the canyon nobody know where I was so try again
and I was determent to just fight the pain and to try again
Moab Police Station , Utah
two days after she set on her run
several phone calls from Danelle's family and friends
have finally alerted the police to her disappearance
good morning frank
- what do you got there?
- I gotta possible missing person's call yesterday
went out to the house
this morning to check it out
lights are on, laptop is on, truck's gone
no signs of activity for a couple days at least
I know her, Danelle Ballengee the marathon runner
she trains up around masses, i'm in fact heading that way right now I'll take a look around
- let me know if you know anything
- I will
all maybe I made it about three inches
and I got myself stuck in this small
was meaning a part whole it was just a change in direction in the rock
and I couldn't even barely get myself out if it
with little blood borne oxygen reaching her vital organs
Danelle's body
is close to shutting down
it's only her extraordinary physical conditioning that's keeping her a life
but she won't leave much longer without medical help and she knows it
I was hypervanilating, could barely breath
and I also started to lose my vision
I would turn my head to look and just sort of.. be this blur across the sky
then I doughted .. focus on something in order to get.. sort of my vision back
barely able to see, Danelle can go no
further
defeated she spans a pain sticking three hours inching her way back to her only source
of water
fifty hours after her dramatic fall
the adventure athlete hopes of getting out of the canyon alive
now seem futile
I got myself back into this spot, and I just lay on my back
and started crying
and I started to lose hope
and taz came over to me it's just licking my tears
and I was so sad that I wasn't gonna get..
I didn't know what's gonna happen to taz if there's nobody to take care of him
I was gonna miss not being able to play with taz
miss being around with him and do the things I love to do
and that's when ...still get talk about it
local detective craig chamoy knows that Danelle often trains amass of back area north of moab
he is hoping his hunch pays off
bingo
now a searching rescue operation can be launched
but it may already be too late for Danelle
within an hour of the discovery of Danelle Ballengee's truck
the ground county Utah searching rescue team mobilizes
Danelle's been missing over two days
and they know any hopes of finding her alive are fading fast
okay we gotta missing person potential injury in the amass of back area
john marshall is in charge of the search team out in the feild
our organization is set up that individual officer's take terms being the officer in charge on any particular day
that day just happens to be my day
female, brunette, about 5.4 feet ,120 pounds, name: Danelle Ballengee
Ballengee?
you know her?
in instantly in my mind this story completely changed
we are not looking for a lost tourist somebody who just wounded off the trail
we are looking for somebody
that's got more backcountry experience them
your average john doe on the street, and if this person has been missing in the back country for two, two and a half days
there are not just lost, this person is in some serious trouble
while critically injured an exposed to freezing conditions
Danelle's endurance training has help keep her alive for over two days
but the physical ordeal is wearing her down mentally
I was pretty close to die that at point
and I lost hope that anybody would find me
now after fifty one hours her intense willpower is breaking down
despite the increasing risk of hypothermia she can no longer stop her self from urinating
with night bringing colder temperatures
Danelle knows that without a miracle she likely freez to death by morning
the extreme athlete has finally given in
but that's when I started think about my life and every thing that I did
I started think about my life and every thing that I did , and every thing that I still wanted to do
and thought about my family and my friends
and how much they meant to me
and I thought that I was gonna die
I mean I was, I was dying
taz, taz
taz ,I need you to help me
taz was there with me, he was all I had at that point
and I said to, him i said "taz, I'm hurt, I need help, can you go get help "
taz, I need you to help me
go get me help
taz, go find some help for me please
!just Go
this is my last chance, taz
!Go
!Go
and he turn around and he took off
taz is her only hope, but Danelle knows that by sending him away she may now face death alone
knowing there's little time to spare
moab rescue operation chief john marshall
arrives in amass of backcountry search area first
in the backcountry here in south eastern Utah doesn't play any favorites
it's a beautiful are inspiring landscape but it also deadly
there's a dog down there
- you see him?
- yeah, I got him
taz has found his way out of the canyon
and he is heading for the search party
but as he rises toward them, john fears the worst
I know my dog will never leave my side as long as I have a pulse
so to see her dog down in the bottom of the canyon for the first time my heart dropped
is this ought this can't be a good sign the dog has left it's master
as the rest of the search party arrives
taz reaches the top of the canyon but he doesn't stop
and his behavior was being wildering
particularly to experience tracker
bego gerhart
this Bedraggle dog came running down the jeep road and right through us
the odd was he didn't really want anything to do with this
like he didn't woke up to the first person and go "feed me"
john marshall knows that taz could hope the key to finding Danelle
but standard procedure dictates
that he can not delay the rescue operation any further
bego you take the mass back trail in the ATV
bego gerhart is under no illusions about the normally of the taz facing them
see you are going to look for
somebody that just out after dark
or they broke their ankle and you pretty much know where they are
but this was a full-on search had no idea within say..
twenty square miles
which is huge in this country with all the canyons and cliffs twenty square miles can take along time to cover
it's time they simply don't have
as evening approaches, temperatures are already droping
but bego gerhart can't rush for fear of missing a clue that may lead him
to Danelle
as we went up every time there was a sandy place I look in the sand for tracks
and pretty soon I thought I found some tracks that could be two days old
and there were dog tracks along with the shoe prints
back at the searching rescue base
john is now sure that taz is trying to tell them something
this dog was on a mission see it's almost as he is if he ran around say hey look at me , look at me
I'm gonna get everybodys' attention
now I will show you where she is at
where is he going?
all of a sudden down in the bottom of the canyon the dog re-appears
and headed back of the amass back trail
so I get on the radio, and I radio over to the vehicles heading up to the trail
1T8-12 to 1T8-36, hey bego looks like the dog coming your direction
let him past
let's see where he is going
I'm looking over my shoulder
and sure enough, taz appears and takes off up over the hill
I'm going you know, I think I should follow taz for about five minutes just to see
okay dog let's see what you know
time is running out as nightfall approaches, a new threat to the rescue operation has immersed
heavy snow fall is forecast which Danelle couldn't hope to survive
following taz may now be the last chance so finding Danelle alive
endurance athlete Danelle Ballengee is close to death
with heavy snow forecast another night in the open will kill her
unless her dog can pull off a miracle and lead the rescue team to her in time
experience mountain tracker bego gerhart knows that Danelle's dog could be her only wheel hope of survival
I know to pay attention to dogs because they know stuff
so when he ran up over the hillside I had a very strong feeling of I better follow him for few minutes
as taz leads bego deeper into the canyon
the going becomes more territories
bego most slow the ATV, and risk losing the dog's trail
Danelle has no way of knowing that taz has found help
she is resign to dying out in the open
but when he returns, Danelle senses a change in taz's behavior
next I know taz came up
and he came right by me
and he went straight to the puddle
and he started drinking from my puddle
I remember thinking that my life rely
that's the only water I got
can't you find a different puddle taz
but I couldn't.. you know I couldn't say that to him, and I just...
I just pat him a few times and let him drink from the puddle
his demeanor changed a little bit, he had seem to get a little energy back
when he lick my face again, and he was wagging his tail a little bit
and it was sad for me to see him see this happy little dog that I was never gonna be with
at the same time I heard this other sound
help
- help
- I wasn't hopeful because I have been screaming for..
you know for fifty some hours straight
and nobody had come to help me
help
and just about the time I thought was gonna run out off road
I heard disabled cordial in scream
help
I will never forget it
and had to be Danelle
help
help
I can't move
- help please
- it sound that closer
and then cut out and I start beging desperate begin for help
help me
explaining that I'm hurt
tell this person "I can not leave"
I need help, I need help
help, please help me
it was the best moment in my life
because I knew right then that i was gonna get a second chance
I knew i was gonna make it
he is quite emotional
because not very often do you do owner rescue
where somebody's life is really quite on the edge
the look on her face was one of relief, and then the tears came
next thing he said to me was "you got one good dog"
and I just start cry, I just lead start cry
I don't think any human could've survived another night in those temperatures
taz and his extraordinary bond with Danelle has saved her life
taz certainly did make the difference in shaving hours or perhaps even days of finding Danelle
and in this rescue she didn't have hours or days to spare she was on the brink as it was
I knew that taz was a smart dog
but to able to do what he did
this was a whole another level of communication
suddenly you know my dog was taking care of me unstead of me taking care of him
and i look back at it now and i'm so greatful he is truly a best friend
Danelle is airlifted to the hospital
and undergoes emergency surgery
to repair the savid vessels
that have pumped three paints of blood into her pelvis cavity
her life has been saved but her body maybe shattered beyond repair
doctors fears she may never walk again
against all the odds
the extraordinary determination
that kept her life in the canyon
has now put her back on her feet again
after six hours in surgery and months of rehab
Danelle is up and running and taz has a new playmate
subtitle by: wog
http://www.wog.zaghost.com/vb