Aaron Lloyd and Johnny Whitehead decided to go hiking in an area of Liberty County in the Trinity River National Wildlife refuge at around 4pm Sunday. Although the boys put down flag markers to be able to find their way out, they became lost.
The heavy underbrush and thorns that hadn't seen any rain recently made this hike more difficult than usual and the boys called 9-1-1. The drama didn't end there. A Liberty County deputy went in for the boys and he became dehydrated and disoriented.
A Coast Guard chopper tried to lower a rescuer down, but he was unable to break through the treetops. Finally at about midnight, the chopper used a spotlight to guide the boys and the deputy to firefighters nearby.
"We couldn't find our way back so we just kept walking one way and kept walking. We were out there for an hour or two and then we decided to call 9-1-1 because we were lost and then they found us," said Aaron.
The boys were tired and thirsty but they are OK, as is the deputy. This is just another case of how a cell phone played a critical role in preventing a tragedy.