PENMART01 wrote:

> It's actually very easy to get lost in the woods, don't need any large wooded
> area either, people become disoriented in relatively small wooded areas all the
> time, even very experienced outdoors types. especially those because they think
> they know it all. And doesn't have to be any big wilderness area
> either...folks get lost in the Long Island, NY Pine Barrens all the time, often
> within a couple hundred yards of major populated areas and/or major roadways...
> quite a few are found years later, well, their bones.

Some people can get lost in their backyard. Some people just don't have a good
sense of direction and others are so unaccustomed to wildlife that they cannot
distinguish one type of tree from another, never mind trees of the same species. I
have spent a lot of time in the woods and never been lost, but on some of my treks
the people I was with were totally disoriented.

Some people's definition of heavy bush is a lot different My personal definition
of heavy bush is one that includes thick underbrush. It is thick and at eye level,
obstructing your view and your movement. When bush is too thick to walk through you
have to keep changing direction, making you walk farther and increases the
probability of losing your bearings. The pictures I saw of the site of this
incident were described as being heavy bush, but what I was was large well spaced
hardwood trees and no apparent underbrush. That is not a thick forest or dense
brush in my books, just a bunch of big trees.