Valentine’s Day lasted a bit longer for married Palo Alto couple Carol Kiparksy, 77, and Ian Irwin, 72. After staying in a vacation cottage near Inverness, the couple decided to go on a short hike to watch the sunset. It became darker sooner than they thought and the pair eventually made a wrong turn on the way back to their cottage. They were missing for eight days and reportedly survived by drinking water from a puddle and eating plants.
The pair were reported missing by the housekeeper when they were supposed to check out on Feb. 15 but failed to do so. Their wallets, cellphones, and car were left at the cottage. They left on their hike without food, water, or warm clothing as they went to watch the sunset.
A volunteer with Marin Search and Rescue, Quincy Webster, and a golden retriever named Groot found them alive beneath dense thicket bushes. Webster said that the couple was so surprised and excited when they were found that the first thing they said was, “Thank God you found us, we’re so happy.” Once they were found, a helicopter airlifted them out of the woods. During those eight days, Irwin hurt his ankle and was unable to walk, making a grand escape furthermore difficult.
Marin County Sheriff’s Sgt. Brenton Schneider said at a news conference, “this is a miracle.” Schneider also said that health-wise the couple was “doing OK,” but they were still suffering from slight hypothermia.
Kiparksy was found wearing no shoes, and they were without jackets or suitable clothing. Temperatures in these areas, especially in the forest, drop well below freezing on some nights, making it a painful eight days.
Both of their sons made several comments regarding the issue. John Kiparksy stated, “They found themselves in trouble and they kept going. They were moving, trying to get to a road, trying to get to water, thinking water leads you to civilization. And, as it happens, when they were found they were very close to a road but on the other side of a thicket.”
Jonas Irwin continued speaking of his father, “He was laying his body flat into that awful thorny crap, which poison oak, you name it, so that Carol could go over him,” Irwin said. “That’s chivalry, like I hope that’s still alive.”
Jonas thanked the volunteers and said that the men and women who found his parents were affected by the search. “30 of them got poison oak just grinding through the thicket,” Irwin said. A total of 70 people were searching Saturday morning when the couple was found, and approximately 400 people were part of the search and rescue mission since the couple went missing.
The Irwin/Kirparksy family released a statement regarding the matter since they have been hospitalized. In the statement, the family says, “Carol and Ian have met with both the Marin County Sheriff’s Office and Search and Rescue Team members. They will be forever grateful for the hard work and dedication put forth by all of the Search and Rescue volunteers and First Responders from all over the Bay Area who searched every day for them. They look forward to telling their story in time, but are asking for privacy until they are ready to tell the story of how they survived the unimaginable seven nights in the Inverness wilderness.”
