Man rescued from flooded Arkansas creek credits 'amazing' strangers for averting disaster

What began as a simple road trip for two buddies in Baja Bugs from California to North Carolina became something more than expected.

It was about making friends along the way.

Mark Girdner, 64, and Mike Adams, 71, both of California, began their cross-country journey to travel to Kitty Hawk, N.C., and were going to return home across the Transamerica Trail, which put Girdner and Adams on a return path through Natural Dam, Arkansas. The TAT provides enthusiasts with a less-than-paved road when traveling across the country.

“My purpose in this was wanting to see this amazing country, its beauty, and enjoy driving, but it became about the people,” Mike Adams said. “There’s something about Southern hospitality that can’t be beat, but everybody we met along the way was amazing. Everyone was wonderful and interested in what we were doing, and it was pretty neat.”

Girdner had led some guided tours from California to Nevada when he struck up a friendship with Adams, and the two decided to take their adventure across the country.

Girdner and Adams reached the East Coast and were making their way back home. They had stopped once at Natural Dam earlier on their journey and thought it would be a good place to stop again on the return trip. Girdner figured they would return to the same spot, but the recent rain caused the creek at Natural Dam to reach the flood stage.

Girdner misread the trail, drove off a 30-foot bluff, and bounced once but landed wheels down in the creek.

“I got lucky. Had the Bug flipped over, I wouldn’t be having this conversation right now,” Girdner said back at his home in California. “I had several GoPro cameras inside my car to chronicle my journey across the country. I wished I had the mind to have all my cameras on when I began to cross the bluff. That would have gone viral, but I’m happy to be alive and well.”

Adams was in the lead but let Girdner take point for their drive out of Arkansas. Adams saw his friend drive straight off the bluff.

“I pulled over and waited for Mark, and he just drove right off the bluff,” Adams said. “We had radios to talk to each other while driving. I was yelling at him to stop and trying to get on the radio, but it happened too fast. I called 911.”

Girdner’s Baja Bug began to drift down the creek but was stalled on some rocks a few yards away from where he landed.

Crawford County Sheriff's Deputy Tyler Hines happened to be 15 minutes away at Figure Five when the call went out. Hines said it would have been 40 to 45 minutes before any other help could reach Girdner’s location. Upon arrival, Hines saw several people watching the event, but no one else was trying to get Girdner out of the water. Hines could see that Girdner was up to his neck in water. The gasoline from the Bug leaked into the creek and encircled Girdner, who suffered chemical burns on his chest and was breathing in fumes. Girdner said it was a tough situation.

“I was in shock. I was in freezing water and trying to think my way out of it.”

Hines said that Girdner’s core body temperature was 96 degrees when he and EMT Eli Hartley with Southwest EMS got Girdner out of the water. Girdner was one degree away from reaching the hypothermia stage.

“I wasn’t able to talk on the radio, and there was no phone service, so no one knew I was going into the water,” Hines said. “My training kicked in. The county sheriff’s department supplies us with rope for water rescues. I tied one end to a tree and another around my waist and got in the water.”

Girdner thought he was only in the water for 10 minutes, but Adams said it was close to 30, and he had feared the worst.

“I’ll be honest. We all thought he had passed. We were hoping for hope,” said Adams.

Dusty and Candy Lane lived on the property given in the 911 dispatch as the location of Girdner’s rescue. The Lanes operate Budget Roofing, and when one of their friends heard the 911 dispatch over the scanner, they called the Lanes to ask if they were okay.

“We went down to the creek and saw what was going on,” Candy Lane said. “Honestly, we thought (Girdner) was dead. From our point of view, it looked like he was totally submerged. When we saw that Mark started moving, we celebrated. Dusty gave Mike (Adams) a big ol ’hug. They were two strangers, but it didn’t seem like it then.”

When Adams and some others came to watch the rescue and saw that Girdner was moving after he was pulled from the Baja Bug, strangers were celebrating together.

Girdner was transported to Mercy Hospital in Fort Smith. After eight hours, he was released. His clothes had to be destroyed because of the gasoline absorbed, but he was able to recover his wallet. He called a few hotels in the area and got a shuttle service. The deputy took Girdner to Walmart and helped him purchase clothes and a phone so Girdner could tell his wife what happened. She flew out to Fort Smith the next day.

The Lanes took in Adams for the day until the water level receded. They became friends for eight hours. Adams met other members of the Lane family, and Candy cooked him a full meal as they waited to hear word about Girdner. Dusty and his daughter Harley retrieved most of Girdner’s stuff that had floated into the creek. The Lanes also offered Girdner a place to store his Baja Bug once recovered from the creek.

“We didn’t know each other. We were all crying, but it was like we knew each other,” said Candy Lane. “We thought he had perished. It’s tough to put into words how it feels. With the rushing water and the circumstances, it all could have turned out differently, but it didn’t, and we’re all like family now.”

But there was still the matter of retrieving Girdner’s Baja Bug from Natural Dam.

Before the Natural Dam incident, Girdner’s nephew, Tim Craig, had been following his uncle’s adventures across the United States and had garnered help through social media. Craig found a 4x4 recovery group out of Fayetteville. Zane Pittman came down to Crawford County and pulled the Bug out of the creek at no charge for Girdner.

“I thought I was late in the game to get down and help,” Pittman said. “When I saw that it still hadn’t been recovered, I came down and was able to get it out. I saw it as a challenge but wanted to help because that’s how I was raised: You help others when you can.”

Pittman had done several recoveries and said it is very unlikely for a vehicle to take that kind of fall and land upright in the creek. Pittman added that in his experience, the vehicle would usually land on its side or upside down.

At Girdner’s request, the Bug was left at the Lanes. Girdner had befriended them, and they were nearby when he and the Bug entered the water. They took photos and videos of Girdner’s rescue. The Lanes recovered Girdner’s electronics from the Baja Bug, including his phone.

It was still working — at 60% power — after being submerged in water for 24 hours. (The phone, a Google Pixel, was in a non-waterproof case Girdner bought from Amazon.

It wasn’t the duo’s first misadventure. The pair were delayed in Taylorsville, North Carolina, while the transmission for Adams’ Baja Bug was being repaired. A couple, Richard and Brenda Hallman, took the duo in and provided space and tools for Adams to fix his transmission. A few days later, Girdner and Adams were back at the Hallmans' for another quick repair job before returning to the road again.

Again, it was strangers helping strangers.

“Meeting so many amazing and friendly people that were so willing to help guys was icing on the cake,” Girdner said. “It was certainly encouraging to see folks representing the best of America for me. Up until the accident, it was the trip of a lifetime. Getting to see so much rural America, backcountry routes, and the wonderful people we met along the way all added to the magic of the adventure.”

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Man rescued from flooded Arkansas creek thankful for helpful strangers