A STORY OF HOLLY JOCHUM
Trying to understand what happened
This is just my speculation. Absolutely no idea as to what happened. Just a theory. Hope this is a jumping off point for us to discuss/debate lost individuals and the decisions they make that results in their loss.
Let's start with what we know and our assumptions. Holly tries to get to Big Bear but the roads are closed. Last Known Position LKP near Big Bear. The red dot on the map below. New destination is Joshua Tree, the blue dot. She a free spirt, part-time van lifer, looking for a winter mountain adventure.
She's from Orange County and would most likely be taking the 330 to the 18. If she was turned around and was headed to Joshua Tree, she would likely take the 10 FWY. See the route in blue.
Originally looking for a mountain adventure, she most likely exited on the 243 and drove into the San Jacinto mountains. One of the first campsites are the Black Mountain campsites. Based on Flight Radar information, this is where RSO helicopters were focusing their search.
So her most likely actual route was the following.
It snowed heavily through the night and she woke up to find herself stuck. Black Mountain is pretty far away from Idyllwild and has poor reception.
I hope making these hindsight analyses give us insight into future incidents.