Sparkling Adventures in Child Neglect: Now with Rats!

[CheeseDeprived]

DOCS (the NSW family welfare agency) was contacted after Aisha went missing overnight with Luke, but they were unable to locate the family and no action was taken.

Also, if I remember this right, it emerged after Elijah's death that DoCS didn't communicate with child protection in Qld (I think they're called something else), so they were unaware of any concerns. So, as Vex said, that's a huge part of the problem with this situation - they move from state to state, are hard to locate, different state services don't communicate...

The episode with Luke always got to me from a different angle - it looks like he did exactly what he had to do, did a great job keeping Aisha safe, and it's highly unlikely that anything untoward happened, but he was automatically viewed with suspicion - he was alone with her, he could have abused her. If I was him (or his familly), I would be very angry to be put in a situation and left alone with a child all night because its parents couldn't care less. Know what I mean? Poor guy.

[lilith]

Also, if I remember this right, it emerged after Elijah's death that DoCS didn't communicate with child protection in Qld (I think they're called something else), so they were unaware of any concerns. And I think that's part of the problem with this situation, they move from state to state, are hard to locate, different state services don't communicate...

The episode with Luke always got to me from a different angle - it looks like he did exactly what he had to do, did a great job keeping Aisha safe, and it's highly unlikely that anything untoward happened, but he was automatically viewed with suspicion - he was alone with her, he could have abused her. If I was him (or his familly), I would be very angry to be put in a situation and left alone with a child all night because its parents couldn't care less. Know what I mean? Poor guy.

ladyaudley - I think Aisha going missing was in December 2011 (the night before Christmas, possibly). Lauren leaving would have been in April or May 2012... thereabouts.

I absolutely agree that Luke seems to have been a nice and honourable young man and to have made the best choices he could once he found himself in an awkward position. But nobody knew that at that point - they had only known him for a few days, and he had focused on their daughters - innocently, probably- but all they really knew was that a man they barely knew, who had sought out the company of their daughters, had disappeared in the night with their eldest daughter. Some fear would be a normal parental reaction.

[CheeseDeprived]

I absolutely agree that Luke seems to have been a nice and honourable young man and to have made the best choices he could once he found himself in an awkward position. But nobody knew that at that point - they had only known him for a few days, and he had focused on their daughters - innocently, probably- but all they really knew was that a man they barely knew, who had sought out the company of their daughters, had disappeared in the night with their eldest daughter. Some fear would be a normal parental reaction.

Yes, you'd expect that from normal parents... though it sounds like all the fear was had by other people. Anyway, it's understandable to be suspicious in the circumstances, but I just feel sorry for anyone who's put in a situation like that due to others' neglect and is then viewed as a potential abuser, IYKWIM. However I didn't realise (or remember) that he had sought out the company of their daughters - that puts the whole thing in a different light again.

[lilith]

Yes, you'd expect that from normal parents... though it sounds like all the fear was had by other people. Anyway, it's understandable to be suspicious in the circumstances, but I just feel sorry for anyone who's put in a situation like that due to others' neglect and is then viewed as a potential abuser, IYKWIM. However I didn't realise (or remember) that he had sought out the company of their daughters - that puts the whole thing in a different light again.

I remember it being mentioned that Luke "really connected" with the girls and entered into their games. Nothing at all wrong with that, of course, but it would make him disappearing with one of them that bit more troubling.

[niagarahauls]

It feels like the only people who are concerned about these girls are powerless to do anything to help them. I'm certain the family has to negotiate very complicated emotional blackmail with Lauren to avoid being labeled as "negative energy sources" or some other horseshit and completely cut from the girls' lives.

Then you have entire groups of people like us (some an ocean away) watching what at times feels like a slow-motion train wreck. If the instinct to try to protect and help these bedraggled, fragile little girls is so strong through a computer screen it must be heartbreaking for their grandparents after a visit.

[Vex]

I spent a long time on the wayback machine trying to find evidence that she edits posts. The only post that was different was when she posted a pic in NZ without consent then deleted it. The comment asking for deletion is still there.

I'm going on what other people here and on GOMI have said, people who read her blog more closely than I do. I'm 99% sure she edited the blog entry about the day Elijah died, there was a pretty long discussion about that at one point claiming that she changed the timing of the events of that day. I will amend my statement to say she 'it appears she sometimes deletes or edits entries'. You're right. Frequently was an overstatement.

It's certainly true that the entry about incident where they lost their daughter overnight appears to be gone.

[thoughtful]

I hate to even type this thought out, but I'd be interested to see what you all think. I guess we all agree that these rats are not going to live long, happy lives-- it's winter now, but it's eventually going to warm up in that van and not be a safe environment for them. So my thought was that when these rats die, the girls are going to have a very adverse reaction to something they've loved and cared for dying suddenly, and it will release their grief over losing David and Elijah.

At least that might help them process it, and grieve.

And how bizarre is that -- it really points up how awful their situation is, that I'm thinking, well, it's better than nothing, than what their mother expects of them. :(

Reminded me of this - the storyline is that the child's mother died recently, and he has been generally cheerful or just asking curiosity-based questions about it, until one of his goldfish dies (warning -- Ron Howard does an amazing job at freaking out in this scene, so it might be upsetting to some):

JmSMwrEUYNE

[lilith]

I'm going on what other people here and on GOMI have said, people who read her blog more closely than I do. I'm 99% sure she edited the blog entry about the day Elijah died, there was a pretty long discussion about that at one point claiming that she changed the timing of the events of that day. I will amend my statement to say she 'it appears she sometimes deletes or edits entries'. You're right. Frequently was an overstatement.

It's certainly true that the entry about incident where they lost their daughter overnight appears to be gone.

She definitely edits - she did a lot of editing when she got back online after the very brief hiatus she had following Elijah's death when the police had her phones and computers. She edited the posts about Elijah's death numerous times before she settled for the form they currently take.

[August]

Those entries are the same in the wayback machine as on her blog. Any edits were done within hours or a couple of days.

The lost in the woods incident was after a Rainbow gathering (I think the one where Elijah was born? There's a video called doof in the bush from that week), they'd stayed on to house sit for the property owner, and so had a woman and two men. They looked like a poly group in the videos.

http://www.sparklingadventures.com/index.php?id=1473

[lilith]

Those entries are the same in the wayback machine as on her blog. Any edits were done within hours or a couple of days.

The lost in the woods incident was after a Rainbow gathering (I think the one where Elijah was born? There's a video called doof in the bush from that week), they'd stayed on to house sit for the property owner, and so had a woman and two men. They looked like a poly group in the videos.

Yes, her editing of the Elijah entries was pretty rapid, I doubt that there was time for them to be cached.

[August]

The lost one is there

http://www.sparklingadventures.com/index.php?id=1474

After we realised that we had lost Aisha in the bush — albeit with an adult companion — Christmas Eve was the longest night of the year for us. The reunion of our family is a wonderful Christmas present — the best that money can’t buy!

It’s a good thing that I felt at peace as I sat at our camp-site and waited for David to return back from his 4WD adventure with three of our daughters and 20yo Luke. Elijah was sleeping peacefully, Calista was playing on the computer and I was downing multiple cups of chai as I watched the sunset and then experimented with photographing the satellites that passed overhead.

Even though it became very dark and all the stars came out, I wasn’t concerned by my family’s late return. I imagined them to be having such a good time somewhere else that they weren’t in a hurry to get back to our camp.

Headlights show over the crest of the hill, and I know that my family is coming back to me.

The car that came over the hill wasn’t the Landcruiser that went out. It was Tom’s car — our neighbour had collected David, Delaney and Brioni and brought them to our camp site because the kids were too tired to walk further.

David explained that their party had split up. Aisha and Luke had headed up the mountain in a hurry because they wanted to see the sunset, and David had followed at a slower pace with Brioni and Dell. At some point, David realised that he didn’t know where Aisha and Luke were, but it was getting dark and he needed to return to the car.

Meanwhile, Luke had scrambled up to the crest of the mountain with Aisha on his back so they could watch the sunset. It was very colourful — definitely worth the climb — but once it was over, it got dark very quickly.

Climbing up the thickly forested mountain, Luke could catch glimpses of the view across the valleys.

This monarch butterfly's caterpillar deserves close attention.

This lovely sunset rewards Aisha and Luke for their scramble to the top of the mountain.

In the dusk, David found it was difficult to follow his earlier footsteps, and with Brioni and Delaney under his care, he started to realise that he didn’t know where the car was!

Opting to get the kids back to our camp as quickly as possible, David headed down the mountain with Delaney on his back and Brioni in tow. There wasn’t a danger of getting lost — all roads lead to our camp-site, but David needed to find a road to follow before all the sunlight was gone.

Brioni initially needed a lot of encouragement to keep walking the several kilometres back to our camp. David later explained to me that this took a lot of his energy and that lack later contributed to his concern about Aisha.

Meanwhile, after the sunset, Luke put Aisha on his back and started heading down to the car. After a while, both he and Aisha realised that although they should have long reached the car, it wasn’t where they thought it was, and they were lost. Luke says that at this point, Aisha began to cry, wishing that she had never come on the walk and just wanting to be reunited with her dad! Luke says that she told him, “I just love my dad so much.â€

Gently, Luke was able to pull her out of her sadness. He explained how he was feeling about the situation, and he says their spirits rose in unison.

Focusing, Luke and Aisha decided on a plan. All torches and water were still sitting in the car, but Luke was carrying a lighter so making a fire was possible. In the remaining light, Luke again carried Aisha to the top of the hill, believing it to be the most visible spot in the terrain. He intended to light a fire so David would be able to locate them.

At the top, Luke sat Aisha down next to a large, flat granite rock and started to gather sticks. Aisha became upset, not wanting Luke to leave her alone in the dark, so he scrabbled around on the ground to collect some twigs and get the fire going. Luke says his first few attempts to light the fire failed but then he found some stray paper in his utility belt, and the fire stayed lit.

Once the fire was going, Aisha became content to let Luke move further away from her as he collected more firewood. “I then sat down and helped calm Aisha, we talked about how of all the ways we could be lost in the bush, this was quite easy because we had each other, and a fire,†Luke says. “Then Aisha started telling me the lessons she has learnt from this experience.

“We decided we learnt to always carry water! Also always carry a lighter, and when exploring the forest, always take the time to plan how you will know the way back to the car!â€

At about 9.30pm, David finally reached Tom’s car and deposited Delaney and Brioni in it before crossing the creek to find Tom. Tom drove the girls around to me at our camp-site before taking David back up the mountain. David says that they drove as far up the 4WD track as they could, but the gradient became too steep for Tom’s Subaru, and they eventually turned back after first beeping the horn and calling out for Luke and Aisha.

On the mountain-top, as they settled in the warmth of the fire, Luke and Aisha slowly became conscious of the beauty of their environment. “The sky was huge and went on in all direction, the stars were so bright and the sky so dark and beautiful,†Luke remembers. “We then decided that other than the lessons we had learnt, to opportunity to spend this moment looking at the stars was worth being lost in the bush!â€

Aisha fell asleep before too long, using Luke as a pillow and blanket. When she woke up, she was more brave. “Rather than being scared to be left by the fire as I collected wood, she was happy to sit and wait for me to gather more fuel for our warmth,†Luke recalls.

“Then we started singing songs together. I sung In the jungle and Akuna matata from The Lion King and Under the sea from The Little Mermaid.“ Aisha would fall asleep and then wake periodically. “We started having fun, and Aisha would tell me: ‘The first thing I’m going to do when I get back to Daddy is make sure he knows that we have been alright the whole time!’†Luke says he was amazed at how she got braver and braver as the night wore on.

David and Tom returned to our camp, and we discussed our further options. At this point David was wracked with fears for Aisha’s emotional state. We believed that Luke and Aisha would be sitting in the car waiting for David’s return with the girls, and David thought that Aisha would be worried on their behalf. If Luke had returned to the car, we just needed him to make the decision to drive down the mountain and bring Aisha back to me at our camp-site. I wryly remarked that Luke may be trying to get the courage to return to our camp with just one child and admit to me that he’d lost my husband and two other small children along the way. “Come on, Luke and Aisha,†David would mutter. “Come back to us.â€

At this point in the night, I didn’t feel overly concerned for Luke and Aisha. I knew that they would be safe, and the evening was mild so even if they couldn’t make a fire, they wouldn’t get too cold. Somehow I could rest in the knowledge that this event had been designed as a learning experience — especially for Luke and Aisha, but also for David and me as the parents of a missing child.

Our last experience with losing Brioni and Aisha in the bush in Carnarvon Gorge was an emotional train-wreck. Although we found the girls within several hours and they were unharmed, during our separation from them, David and I spent the whole time arguing about how we would discipline them when they came back to us! Upon reflection, we’ve definitely progressed since then, and during most of the ordeal, I found myself at peace about everything. Instead of creating imaginary scenarios in my mind, I kept telling myself that everything was fine. Perfect love casts out fear, and I believe in a perfect Love ruling the universe.

After resting a bit, David decided to start walking back up the mountain to find the car — still believing that Aisha and Luke would be in it. During his absence, I couldn’t sleep much, and simply focused on keeping my thoughts positive. When he returned with the Landcruiser — and no Aisha, we both felt flattened again.

We’re still waiting on the landowner’s return, and so now that we had the car, David decided to drive to Lloyd’s house to see if he was back and could assist in the search. When he returned back to me, he reported that Lloyd still wasn’t back, but David had left a note in case Lloyd turned up in the next couple of hours.

David decided that he would take the Landcruiser up the mountain as far as he could — it’s a hairy 4WD track that is not tackled lightly in daylight, much less on a moonless night! However, David wanted to camp at the truck and take his big boombox stereo to blast music for Luke and Aisha to hear. He believed that a continuous noise would be easier to follow through the bush rather the intermittent sound of a car’s horn. So David started to pack up the truck with the supplies that he would need. One further peculiarity about the Landcruiser — apart from it not having a starter motor nor a handbrake — is that we’ve lost the radiator cap and so need to keep topping it up with water. David took our 25-litre jerry can of water so that he could continue driving as long as he needed to.

It was 2.30 when David left me for the last time. I encouraged him by telling him the time — we both knew that it would be light in a couple of hours and then it would be easy for Luke and Aisha to find their way out of the bush.

Soon after 4 in the morning, Luke and Aisha thought they heard the car’s engine. The bush around them lit up from the Landcruiser’s headlights, and they could hear David honking the car’s horn. Luke recalls: “I told Aisha to wait here as I ran down to get Dave’s attention. Dave hopped out of the car and the first words I heard him say is ‘I love you, Luke! Do you have my baby?’ I gave him two thumbs up, and he said ‘Thank God!’â€

When Aisha, Luke and David finally returned to our camp, they were all in good spirits. Aisha was reflecting positively on her experience and told me how brave she had been. Of course, Luke was singing her praises, too, and we think Luke is an extraordinary young man to connect with Aisha in such a special way during the ordeal! We’re thankful that he was with Aisha the whole time, and together they keep each others’ spirits up.

Throughout the night, we kept reminding ourselves that there was no personal fault in the situation, and it was a good thing that was happening, planned by God since before time began. It’s times like this that our faith in Divine goodness is tested. Do we and can we really believe that losing our 6yo daughter in the bush is a good thing, and can we be thankful while we’re still uncertain of the future? Yes, we do and yes we can!

6 · Trish · 26 December 2011, 17:54

Hi

I am Lukes mum. I knew Luke would do everything he could to look after your daughter. I am proud of the way he kept her safe. Please tell Luke that I love him and we missed him on Christmas day. This was my first christmas without him.

8 · Luke · 27 December 2011, 11:54

Hello Kat this is Luke.

I had my phone with me so I had the opportunity to call police or search and rescue to ask for help if needed. However I didn't feel like the situation was serious enough at that point to take such action. I was confident that if no one had come for us by morning that I could find our way back to camp in the day light. However I did have in my mind that if no one had come by the morning and we would have to walk back to camp, and for some reason we took the wrong path and got more lost then I could have called search and rescue, if it came to that! which it did not, and with Dave only being aware that Aisha and I were also lost for such a short time it's perfectly understandable that he would make his own efforts to check where we said we where going before getting more people involved in the search.

Your worst case scenario view on the situation tells me that perhaps you would shelter your kids from such powerful life experiences that bear valuable lessons, which I think would leave your kids more vulnerable later in life. After getting to know Dave and Lauren's daughters Aisha and Brioni I was amazed to see such wisdom in such young people, and of the way that rather then playing unconscious of possible dangers I see that they are already aware of looking out for each other and them self without being paralyzed by fear.

I don't think it takes a long time to tell if someone has a responsible caring nature. If I have kids in my care I keep a close eye on them at all times. Aisha never left my sight over the whole ordeal other than when I would leave her by the fire to get more warmth. You say it's your job to anticipate the future to prevent possible tragedies for your children, but have you ever thought that perhaps your using your energy to focus your awareness on negative non-existent realities rather than focusing on what's real which is the here and the now!

9 · Lauren · 27 December 2011, 12:35

Thanks everyone, for your comments.

For Kat’s benefit, I’d like to add that David and I had spoken about contacting SES (the search-and-rescue volunteers) if we didn’t find Luke and Aisha by noon on Christmas Day. I was highly aware that many volunteers would appreciate being with their families for Christmas and didn’t want to call them out unnecessarily. Also, the weather was no threat. If the conditions had been different — perhaps if it had been winter — maybe we would have contacted the SES immediately.

Kat, thanks so much for sharing your story. I have nothing so formative about cliffs in my memory, and thus I am not influenced by my past in the same way you are. I know the blogged instance you’re referring to — when we were trekking the Pagoda Track in October (http://www.sparklingadventures.com/index.php?id=1417). If you go back and look at the picture, you’ll see that David is within a hand’s reach of Calista and is ready to grab her if he needs to. She remained safe but also felt independent in her exploration of the cliff edge.

[Miggy]

I just want to defend DoCS here. I work with them on the other side as a foster carer. This would have to be the worst funded and most overworked of all government departments. When I first did my training the officer I was working with said that legally they should only be working on 6 cases at a time but she was working on 36! It was the same for the other 4 ladies working in that office. I am really not surprised these kids slipped through. My experience has been that unless there is drug use or violence in the home, DoCS will not remove kids. It's not that they don't want to - its that they have to use the resources where they are most needed. Now I will step down from my soapbox.

[lilith]

I just want to defend DoCS here. I work with them on the other side as a foster carer. This would have to be the worst funded and most overworked of all government departments. When I first did my training the officer I was working with said that legally they should only be working on 6 cases at a time but she was working on 36! It was the same for the other 4 ladies working in that office. I am really not surprised these kids slipped through. My experience has been that unless there is drug use or violence in the home, DoCS will not remove kids. It's not that they don't want to - its that they have to use the resources where they are most needed. Now I will step down from my soapbox.

I agree, and the fact that they are state agencies who don't have set procedures for sharing information with each other and that Lauren is constantly flitting between jurisdictions and often staying in remote areas makes it damn near impossible for any agency to supervise her care of her daughters.

I suspect that one of the reasons she is staying in WA when David is due in court is because QLD DOCS workers are likely to be present at David's appearance and to want to know that Lauren has followed up with counselling etc for the girls.

[CheeseDeprived]

I just want to defend DoCS here. I work with them on the other side as a foster carer. This would have to be the worst funded and most overworked of all government departments. When I first did my training the officer I was working with said that legally they should only be working on 6 cases at a time but she was working on 36! It was the same for the other 4 ladies working in that office. I am really not surprised these kids slipped through. My experience has been that unless there is drug use or violence in the home, DoCS will not remove kids. It's not that they don't want to - its that they have to use the resources where they are most needed. Now I will step down from my soapbox.

Absolutely. DoCS are not not to blame - it's the system not funding them properly. Apparently they also have an incredibly high staff turnover and inexperienced staff (think social workers fresh out of uni). Anyone who can handle that type of work even for a short time has my utmost respect and deserves a medal (as do foster carers - good on you! ).

That poor little Sydney girl whose case was in the news again recently (Kiesha) was murdered by her mother in July 2011. A few years earlier she had already been removed from her mum's care for 18 months after the mum bit her on the shoulder, but she was later returned and not removed again even after DoCS workers noticed cigarette burns on her body. :( So that's the kind of thing they deal with... that's how bad it can get and still nothing is done, probably because they simply don't have the resources. Or are limited by too much red tape... or both.

So it's not really surprising that there is no one available to spend even a few minutes on the Sparkling Girls' case, sad as it is. It probably wouldn't even be a blip on their radar at this stage. I have a feeling that the system works very differently in the US and child protection services over there are much better funded.

[happy atheist]

Not to bash your system, when the one in the US is far less than perfect, but it seems to me like the government should pay freeloading parents like Lauren less, and put the money saved into better services for people who really need it.

[lilith]

Not to bash your system, when the one in the US is far less than perfect, but it seems to me like the government should pay freeloading parents like Lauren less, and put the money saved into better services for people who really need it.

Our system tends to be quite classist too. The fact that Lauren is middle class and knows all the right words to say makes her far less likely to have action taken to remove the children than a mother in public housing with drug and alcohol issues or an aboriginal mother in a remote community or a recent immigrant family, none of whom know the "right" language to use to placate social workers who tend to be from middle class backgrounds themselves.

I'm not saying action won't be taken, just that Lauren will be given more leeway and the benefit of the doubt than families from less advantaged backgrounds.

A mother from the underclass who doesn't send her kids to school doesn't know to claim that she's unschooling and to spout the philosophies surrounding it, even though her child is probably getting the same level of education as Lauren's. A woman from a remote indigenous community who doesn't prepare meals for her children and leaves them to forage in the home and community won't talk about the importance of self determination and independent choices, even though her kids have the same eating patterns and food insecurity as Lauren's. A recent immigrant with limited English won't know how to demand that her counter cultural choices are respected in the way Lauren does, even though Lauren's children are just as ill equipped for their adult lives in mainstream Australian culture.

[lilith]

Btw, I love this thread title HA. It always makes me smile.

[miffy]

Our system tends to be quite classist too. The fact that Lauren is middle class and knows all the right words to say makes her far less likely to have action taken to remove the children than a mother in public housing with drug and alcohol issues or an aboriginal mother in a remote community or a recent immigrant family, none of whom know the "right" language to use to placate social workers who tend to be from middle class backgrounds themselves.

I'm not saying action won't be taken, just that Lauren will be given more leeway and the benefit of the doubt than families from less advantaged backgrounds.

A mother from the underclass who doesn't send her kids to school doesn't know to claim that she's unschooling and to spout the philosophies surrounding it, even though her child is probably getting the same level of education as Lauren's. A woman from a remote indigenous community who doesn't prepare meals for her children and leaves them to forage in the home and community won't talk about the importance of self determination and independent choices, even though her kids have the same eating patterns and food insecurity as Lauren's. A recent immigrant with limited English won't know how to demand that her counter cultural choices are respected in the way Lauren does, even though Lauren's children are just as ill equipped for their adult lives in mainstream Australian culture.

I agree, I used to work with somebody who was on the single parents pension, her 'public housing' was a unit in one of the nicest suburbs in the eastern suburbs & worked the absolute maximum she could without having her pension reduced too much. She was a middle class woman and knew exactly what to say and what she could get. Hence it's the people from already impoverished backgrounds who end up in housing commission flats and poverty.

[lilith]

I agree, I used to work with somebody who was on the single parents pension, her 'public housing' was a unit in one of the nicest suburbs in the eastern suburbs & worked the absolute maximum she could without having her pension reduced too much. She was a middle class woman and knew exactly what to say and what she could get. Hence it's the people from already impoverished backgrounds who end up in housing commission flats and poverty.

Yes. When I first left my husband centrelink put me on the public housing waiting list. I never actually moved into public housing, having rented a townhouse privately, but I went to a meeting with a department of housing worker once. A unit had become vacant in a large complex of housing commission units. After meeting me and speaking to me the worker said "I can't place your family there, you'll be eaten alive" and I continued to receive rent assistance for my private rental. If I hadn't presented as middle class, and if i hadn't had the financial background that allowed me to rent privately, despite my current state of poverty, I would have just been thrust into the unit, my kids would have had to attend the nearest public school with all it's poverty related social issues, and disadvantage would have been further entrenched.

[intheknow]

The issue that makes my blood run cold with the Luke story is that he HAD A PHONE and chose not to use it. Whenever I think of being in that situation the very first thing I would do is call someone. The absolute responsibility of being lost on a mountain with a child would compel me to.

Why didn't Luke call?????

[lilith]

The issue that makes my blood run cold with the Luke story is that he HAD A PHONE and chose not to use it. Whenever I think of being in that situation the very first thing I would do is call someone. The absolute responsibility of being lost on a mountain with a child would compel me to.

Why didn't Luke call?????

It's entirely possible that out in the bush he could only call emergency numbers.

In NSW, when we first go out of range the phone says "emergency numbers only" which means that you can call 000 (police, fire brigade, ambulance service) but not any other number. You'd get that sort of service in a perimeter of a few hours drive around regional towns. Outside of that there would be no mobile service at all. Lauren's phone was probably under the same restrictions back at camp, only able to call and receive calls from emergency services.

[ladyaudley]

is it bad that on that last picture i find Luke really attractive? mmmh, curls...

what lilith said. There are quite a lot of bits in the Alps that are similar to that and you'd only ever call the emergency services if you really need them, because you know someone else's life might depend on their availability.

[Miggy]

It's entirely possible that out in the bush he could only call emergency numbers.

In NSW, when we first go out of range the phone says "emergency numbers only" which means that you can call 000 (police, fire brigade, ambulance service) but not any other number. You'd get that sort of service in a perimeter of a few hours drive around regional towns. Outside of that there would be no mobile service at all. Lauren's phone was probably under the same restrictions back at camp, only able to call and receive calls from emergency services.

This is true. Only a few kms outside my town and you lose all except emergency reception. BUT ... Why didn't he just call the police? Calling to say "I am lost in the bush with a child" seems quite a reasonable use of the emergency services.

[ladyaudley]

Hey Lauren: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-23223751

[miffy]

This is true. Only a few kms outside my town and you lose all except emergency reception. BUT ... Why didn't he just call the police? Calling to say "I am lost in the bush with a child" seems quite a reasonable use of the emergency services.

One of my friends bought a house in a new estate SE of Melbourne, but close enough to the city to have a metro train station, she had to change her mobile phone to Telstra when she moved because the phone reception was so bad with her old provider.

It does, it probably would have given the local police a welcome change from booking 18 yr old boys doing 140kmhr on the highway.