A Reverend a Dog and the Call of the Wild

In the late summer of 1998 Mike Turner a respected Reverend and a highly skilled outdoorsman embarked on what was meant to be a rejuvenating nine-day solo backpacking trip into the rugged and majestic Fitzpatrick Wilderness of Wyoming Mike was a man of deep faith preparation and confidence in the mountains He was not alone however his beloved dog Andy accompanied him The journey was unfolding as planned a perfect retreat into nature until a crucial selfless decision altered the course of his life forever

The turning point occurred when Mike and Andy encountered a frozen-over lake Andy unaware of the thin ice rushed out onto the surface Fearing his dog would fall through and be seriously injured or drowned Mike made a rapid deviation from his marked path to rescue him

As Mike pursued Andy through a perilous boulder field an area where immense rocks lay scattered unstable and unforgiving the worst imaginable accident struck While taking a break and attempting to retrieve Andy who had run ahead Mike suddenly found himself between two gargantuan shifting boulders In an instant his lower legs specifically his ankles were completely and irrevocably trapped The crushing weight of the rocks held him fast he was uninjured but totally immobilized His wilderness adventure had become a nightmare

Mike Turner despite the immediate shock remained an organized and resourceful man Using the only tools he had access to his pen his personal notebook his Bible and even the instruction manual for his camping stove he began meticulously documenting his ordeal This journal would later become the harrowing testament to his final desperate struggle for survival

For the first few days Mike fought with every ounce of strength and ingenuity He attempted to chip away at the rock and wedge himself free but the boulders were too immense and unstable He melted snow for drinking water until the snow ran out forcing him to conserve his last drops As dehydration set in his entries became darker and more frantic He detailed his eventual agonizing decision to drink his own urine to stay alive

The true tragedy lies in the journal’s record of Mike’s mental and spiritual journey The isolation was 

profound His entries tracked a heartbreaking descent

  Initial Faith The first pages expressed hope and reliance on his faith praying for rescue

  Anger and Despair As the days turned into a week his writing shifted to profound anger railing against his cruel fate the loneliness and the unfairness of being pinned completely helpless and slowly dying

  Final Acceptance In his final entries after ten excruciating days Mike's anger subsided He wrote a final peaceful farewell returning to a state of calm acceptance before succumbing to exposure and dehydration

While Mike was trapped Andy the dog whose rescue initiated the tragedy eventually managed to find his way out of the wilderness Andy’s successful return to civilization was the first indication that something had gone terribly wrong with Mike Turner’s trip prompting a search

Tragically the initial search efforts proved fruitless It wasn't until 29 days after Mike went missing that another independent hiker traveling through the same remote region stumbled upon the gruesome scene They found Mike Turner’s skeletal remains still tightly pinned between the two immovable rocks and beside him the silent powerful proof of his struggle the detailed ten-day journal

The journal provided the definitive intimate account of Mike's final days transforming a simple missing hiker case into one of the most agonizing and unforgettable stories of survival despair and death in the wilderness