Kip’s Comments - June 14, 2023 — LadagePhotography.com

Scenes from the Scene

If you follow me on Facebook you know that last night I played a victim in a missing person exercise at the Volga River State Recreation Area. In the scenario I fell off a cliff and was lying unresponsive about one-third of the drop down from the edge of the cliff. The reality is I really was lying on a small edge one-third of the way down, but I climbed up to get into position.

I hiked and climbed to my precipice about 5:15PM. From that time on I waited for search teams to find me. Several times the searchers were close. For several minutes I was certain I had been spotted by a drone, but that was not the case. A couple of hours passed before I was located and removed from the scene. (Another missing person was found before me.) When I was found and in the back of an ambulance, the exercise was considered complete.

Since I was on my little ledge for a couple of hours, with much of the time being without any search teams nearby, I pulled my phone out to document the scene. By being forced to stay in one spot (or fall off the cliff or give your location away), you really learn to examine your surroundings carefully. I was reassured there is beauty all around us. (I did wish I had a better camera with me.)

The following images were recorded on my phone as I was “unresponsive” and waiting to be found. I think you will see that my “lost” location was really quite pretty!

Good job Fayette County responders. You did well!