Father, sons die hiking after missed turn in Missouri mountains

A father and his two young sons died after taking a wrong turn on a hike in Missouri and being caught in freezing temperatures and a rainstorm. Their Labrador puppy survived and was still with them when authorities arrived.

By Associated Press / January 15, 2013

A father and his two sons died while hiking in Missouri after it began raining and temperatures dropped in the evening on Jan. 12. Here, hikers climb a steep hill at a state park in Indiana.

Associated Press

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On a weekend trip that was a surprise anniversary gift for his wife, an outdoors-loving Air Force veteran ventured out with two of his sons for a?hike?on a remote trail. Clad only in light jackets and sweaters, the three apparently didn't know how rapidly the weather would turn ugly, and that proved?deadly.

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Searchers found the soaked bodies of 36-year-old David Decareaux and the two boys ? ages 8 and 10 ? on the Ozark Trail on Sunday, a day after Decareaux declined a passerby's offer of a ride back to the lodge where they had been staying, Reynolds County Sheriff Tom Volner said. The?cold?had killed them, he said.

Only the family's 4-month-old yellow Labrador retriever survived the?hike. He was found near Decareaux, who died at the scene, and the two boys, who were declared?dead?at a hospital after hours of efforts to revive them failed.

The tragedy crushed Decareaux's father-in-law, Keith Hartrum, who described the family as tightly knit, "always on the go and adventurous."

"Dave was a great guy, a good father, son-in-law and husband," Hartrum told The Associated Press. "Those two boys were just precious ? smart, very nice kids."

It was nearly 60 degrees Saturday morning when Decareaux and his sons set out on the popular trail that runs through a sparsely populated area of southeast Missouri. Decareaux was wearing only a light jacket, while one of his sons was clad in a fleece pullover, and the other a sweater, Volner said.

They were ill-equipped as the temperature sank into the 40s, and a storm that would drop 2 inches of rain set in, making the trail all but impassable.

Volner said there are no caves or other places of refuge along the trail. Although Decareaux had a cellphone and flashlight with him, both devices lost power at some point, his wife, Sarah, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Monday.

A passer-by spotted the hikers more than three hours into their journey and asked if they needed a ride back to the Brushy Creek Lodge near Black, where Decareaux's wife and their three other children ? ages 12, 4 and 2 ? were staying. But Decareaux declined, telling the man they could make it back, the sheriff said.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/Us37rvXrpM4/Father-sons-die-hiking-after-missed-turn-in-Missouri-mountains

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