Image of the barren landscape of Death Valley
Chen Su/Getty Images

Lost in Death Valley

Three women were lost in one of the most dangerous places on Earth. Would they survive?

By Kristin Lewis
From the October/November 2023 Issue

Learning Objective: Students will interpret text features to understand what it was like to be lost in Death Valley. They will also recognize how text features support and add to information in the main body text.

Lexile: 600L-700L, 700L-800L
Other Key Skills: text features, vocabulary, key details, text evidence, author’s craft, inference, interpreting text, making connections, explanatory writing
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UP CLOSE: Text Features

As you read, pay attention to the text features in this article. How do they help you understand what it was like to be lost in Death Valley?

 Courtesy of Donna Cooper

Gina Cooper (left) and Jenny Leung

Death Valley is the hottest place on Earth. The intense heat sucks the air out of your lungs and scorches the bottoms of your feet. The human body is not made to survive in such an extreme place. Every year at least one person dies here.

It was in this blistering hot desert that three women became stranded on July 22, 2010. Seventeen-year-old Gina Cooper, her mother, Donna, and their friend Jenny Leung, 19, were lost with no phone service and very little water. 

Their chances of survival were slim . . . and getting slimmer by the moment.

Death Valley is the hottest place on Earth. The heat dries the air and scorches your feet. People are not made to live in such a hot place. Every year at least one person dies here.

In July 2010, three women became stranded in this place. Gina Cooper, 17, her mother, Donna, and their friend Jenny Leung, 19, were lost. They had no phone service and little water. 

How could they survive? 

Chen Su/Getty Images

A Long History 

Starting in the 1800s, people began coming to Death Valley to dig for gold and other valuable materials. The work was hard and dangerous. All supplies had to be hauled hundreds of miles in and out, mostly by mules. 

Extreme Heat

Extreme Heat

Shutterstock.com

Scorpions are one of many creatures that can survive in the extreme environment of Death Valley.

Like so many disaster stories, this one begins in an ordinary way: with a plan for a fun day trip. 

Jenny was a student from Hong Kong, China. She was spending the summer with Donna, who lived in Pahrump, Nevada. Donna was excited to show Jenny the spectacular sights of the West. Already they’d seen the Grand Canyon, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Now Donna wanted to show her Death Valley. Gina decided to come along. 

Death Valley National Park, in California and Nevada, is a place of amazing beauty and danger. Rocky snowcapped mountains tower thousands of feet into the sky. Huge sand dunes sizzle in the sun on the valley floor below. Summer temperatures soar well above 120 degrees Fahrenheit. (The record is 134.) 

These extremes are brutal—but also fascinating. And that’s why more than 1 million people visit Death Valley each year. Most come during the cool winter months. 

Donna, Gina, and Jenny knew that visiting in July meant extreme heat. But it would be a short trip, mostly in Donna’s air-conditioned car. The three women planned to visit Scotty’s Castle, a famous home and museum from the 1920s.

Donna packed food and water for the day. She also stocked the car with maps, tools, blankets, phone chargers, and a first-aid kit. 

Little did she know that those tools would become critical. The women would soon be fighting for their lives. 

The women had started out on a fun day trip. 

Jenny was a student from China. She was spending the summer with Donna, who lived in Nevada. Donna was excited to show Jenny the amazing sights of the West. They’d seen the Grand Canyon. Now Donna wanted to show her Death Valley. Gina decided to come along. 

Death Valley National Park, in California and Nevada, is a place of great beauty and danger. Mountains topped with snow rise into the sky. Huge sand dunes cover the valley floor. Summer temperatures often reach 120 degrees Fahrenheit. 

These extremes are brutal—but they make the place very interesting. That’s why more than 1 million people visit Death Valley each year. Most come during the cool winter months. 

Donna, Gina, and Jenny knew that visiting in July meant high heat. But it would be a short trip. They’d be mostly in Donna’s air-conditioned car. The three women planned to visit Scotty’s Castle, a famous house from the 1920s.

Donna took food and water for the day. She also packed the car with maps, tools, blankets, phone chargers, and a first-aid kit. 

She had no idea that those tools would become critical. Soon the women would be fighting for their lives. 

Jim McMahon/Mapman ® 

 Death Valley National Park

A Wrong Turn

A Wrong Turn

After spending a few hours at Scotty’s Castle, the women left for home around 3 p.m. On their way out, they passed a sign for the Racetrack—one of Death Valley’s star attractions. It’s a large dried-up lake bed scattered with rocks that seem to move on their own, leaving tracks in the dirt behind them. The women decided they shouldn’t miss the chance to see it. 

They drove.  

And drove. 

And drove. 

They came to a crossroads called Teakettle Junction. That must have been where they took a wrong turn, because they began driving up into the mountains. They tried to head back the way they’d come, but with each passing mile, they became more lost. 

“Everything looked the same,” Donna says. “It was awful.” 

Only the park’s main roads were shown on their map. So they turned on the car’s GPS. Similar to a smartphone’s map app, this device can track a car’s location and deliver directions: Turn right in 500 yards. Continue straight for 1 mile. 

But in remote places like Death Valley, GPS sometimes doesn’t work properly. It soon became clear that the GPS was useless. The device was giving Donna wrong directions. 

Hours went by. The women had driven hundreds of miles. The fuel tank was almost empty. Their drinking water was running low. As darkness fell, stars lit up the night sky. Then, around 10 p.m., the car sputtered to a stop. 

They were out of gas. 

By now, their friends and families were starting to worry. Among them was Donna’s 21-year-old daughter, Sky, who lived in Florida. Sky had just had surgery. When her mother didn’t call to check in, Sky knew something was terribly wrong. 

The women spent time at Scotty’s Castle. Then they left for home around 3 p.m. They passed a sign for the Racetrack—one of Death Valley’s big attractions. It’s a dry lake bed full of rocks that seem to move on their own. The women wanted to see it. 

They drove.  

And drove. 

And drove. 

They came to a crossroads and took a wrong turn. They began driving up into the mountains. With each passing mile, they became more lost. 

“Everything looked the same,” Donna says. “It was awful.” 

Only the park’s main roads were shown on their map. So they turned on the car’s GPS. This device can track a car’s location and give directions like “Go straight for 1 mile.” 

But in remote places like Death Valley, it sometimes doesn’t work. The GPS turned out to be useless. The device was sending Donna the wrong way. 

Hours went by. The women had driven hundreds of miles. The fuel tank was almost empty. Their drinking water was running low. It was getting dark. The sky filled with stars. Then, around 10 p.m., the car rolled to a stop. 

They were out of gas. 

By now, their friends and families were starting to worry. Donna’s daughter Sky, who lived in Florida, had just had surgery. When her mother didn’t call to check in, Sky knew something was very wrong. 

Courtesy of Donna Cooper

The women left the car on the road, hoping it would be seen.

Only Dry Land

Only Dry Land

Early the next morning, Donna, Gina, and Jenny woke up from a long and frightening night in the car. Looking around, they realized how truly desperate their situation was. Yet they remained calm.

Donna had gained important survival skills from a teacher when she was young. Now, she would need to use what she’d learned to keep them all alive.

Gina set out on foot to look for help. Meanwhile, Donna and Jenny searched for food. All they found were some pine needles and some cactuses. Two hours later, Gina returned with grim news: She had seen car tracks but no people—only dry land. 

By now, just a few sips of precious water remained. The heat was growing stronger. Gina begged her mom to try starting the car again. It seemed pointless—the car was out of gas. But why not? 

Donna turned the key.

Vroom!

The car sprang to life. 

Early the next morning, Donna, Gina, and Jenny woke up from a long and scary night in the car. Looking around, they knew they were in big trouble. Yet they remained calm.   

When she was young, Donna had learned survival skills from a teacher. Now she would need those skills to keep them all alive.

Gina set out on foot to look for help. Meanwhile, Donna and Jenny looked for food. All they found were pine needles and cactuses. Two hours later, Gina returned with grim news. She had seen car tracks but no people. 

By now, their water was almost gone. The day was getting hotter. Gina begged her mom to try starting the car again.  Maybe there was a tiny bit of gas left. 

Donna turned the key.

Vroom!

The car came to life. 

Courtesy of Donna Cooper

Jenny walks to the trees (top), where the trailers (below) would provide desperately needed water.

The Search Begins

The Search Begins

Back in Florida, Sky was sick with worry. She logged in to her mom’s bank account online, looking for clues of where she might be. She saw that Donna had used a credit card to buy a T-shirt at Scotty’s Castle the day before. 

Immediately, Sky called the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The state agency launched a search to look for Donna, Gina, and Jenny.  

Scouring all of Death Valley—an area the size of Connecticut—would be a slow process. Already, the women had been missing for 24 hours. Finding them as soon as possible was critical to their survival.

Back in Florida, Sky was sick with worry. Where could her mother be? She checked her mom’s bank account online for clues. She saw that Donna had used a credit card to buy a T-shirt at Scotty’s Castle. 

Quickly, Sky called the California Highway Patrol (CHP). Agents began a search to look for Donna, Gina, and Jenny.  

Scouring all of Death Valley, which is as big as Connecticut, would take a long time. The women had been missing for 24 hours. To survive, they needed to be found as soon as possible.

Finding Water

Finding Water

 Shutterstock.com

Donna learned survival skills from a teacher she had when she was 8 years old. She credits him with saving their lives.

Meanwhile, Donna, Gina, and Jenny found themselves on a road, driving up and down a series of steep hills. Then they saw it: a splash of bright green in a sea of brown. Trees! They knew that where there are trees, there is water.

The three women drove until they ran out of gas, this time for good. Thankfully, the trees were only a short hike from the car. But every step was painful. It was at least 125 degrees Fahrenheit. The superhot rocks on the ground burned their feet through their shoes. 

But Donna, Gina, and Jenny were not about to give up. 

When they reached the trees, they found three trailers and a small covered porch. “The chance of finding that in the middle of Death Valley was one in a million,” Gina says. 

Inside one of the trailers, the women found stale oatmeal, cans of beans, and some dried meat so old it had turned white. It wasn’t much, but Donna was over the moon. “I thought, OK, I can keep us alive for two weeks on this,” she says.

The next morning they found something even better. On the back of one of the trailers was a hose. They turned it on, and to their pure joy, hot water gushed out. 

“It was the worst water I’d ever tasted but also the best,” Gina remembers. 

But Gina was so thirsty she had started to feel sick. She couldn’t eat. Donna encouraged her to swallow a few bites of oatmeal. 

As the day wore on, the women prepared for another night in the wilderness. 

Meanwhile, Donna, Gina, and Jenny were driving up and down hills. Then they saw it: a splash of bright green in a sea of brown. Trees! They knew that trees could only grow near water.

The three women drove until the car’s last drop of gas ran out. The trees were only a short hike from the car. But every step was painful. It was at least 125 degrees Fahrenheit. Even through their shoes, the hot rocks burned their feet. 

But Donna, Gina, and Jenny would not give up. 

When they reached the trees, they found three trailers. “The chance of finding that in the middle of Death Valley was one in a million,” Gina says. 

Inside one of the trailers, the women found old food. There were cans of beans, stale oatmeal, and some dried meat. It wasn’t much, but Donna was over the moon. “I thought, OK, I can keep us alive for two weeks on this,” she says.

The next morning they found something even better. On the back of one of the trailers was a hose. They turned it on, and to their joy, water poured out. 

“It was the worst water I’d ever tasted but also the best,” Gina remembers. 

Gina was so thirsty she had started to feel sick. She couldn’t eat. Donna told her to try a few bites of oatmeal. 

As the day wore on, the women got ready for another night in the wilderness. 

Rescued!

Rescued!

On July 25, two CHP pilots, Tyler Johns and Scott Steele, were searching the area from their helicopter. By now, they had little hope of finding the women alive. 

The pilots were about to give up when they decided to fly over one of the most remote parts of the park one last time. That’s when they spotted it: Donna’s car. 

Down on the ground, Donna and Gina were inside a trailer when they heard Jenny screaming. They ran out to see Jenny wildly waving a yellow blanket.

In the sky, a helicopter was flying straight toward them. They were saved.

When Johns and Steele landed, they were overjoyed to find the women alive. After their car was refilled with gas, Donna, Gina, and Jenny raced out of the park—happy and relieved. Soon they pulled into a gas station. Gina and Jenny grabbed nachos, hot dogs, chips, ice cream, soda—anything they could get their hands on. They quickly shoveled the food into their mouths. 

It was as though they’d arrived at the finest restaurant in the world.

Three days after the women went missing, two CHP pilots were searching the area from a helicopter. Their names were Tyler Johns and Scott Steele. They had little hope of finding the women alive. 

But they chose to fly over a remote part of Death Valley one last time. That’s when they spotted Donna’s car. 

Donna and Gina were inside a trailer when they heard Jenny screaming. They ran out to see Jenny waving a yellow blanket.

In the sky, a helicopter was flying straight toward them. They were saved.

When Johns and Steele landed, they were thrilled to find the women alive. After the car was refilled with gas, Donna, Gina, and Jenny raced toward home. As soon as they saw a gas station, they stopped for food. They grabbed nachos, hot dogs, chips, ice cream, and soda. They quickly ate all of it. 

It was as though they’d come to the best restaurant in the world.

Courtesy of Donna Cooper

From left: Tyler Johns, Gina, Donna, Jenny, Scott Steele

Looking Back

Looking Back

It’s been more than 10 years since that terrible experience in the desert. Today Gina is a nurse in Florida. Jenny’s love of nature led her to study environmental sciences in college. For years, Donna sent Christmas cards to Johns and Steele. 

Gina looks back on what happened with a sense of pride. She says it changed her, made her more confident. 

Having survived something so horrible, she says, has prepared her for anything life may throw at her. “You have to be thankful for every day you get,” Gina says.

It’s been more than 10 years since that awful time in the desert. Today Gina is a nurse in Florida. Jenny’s love of nature led her to study science in college. For years, Donna sent Christmas cards to the pilots who saved them. 

Gina looks back on what happened with pride. She says it changed her. It gave her confidence. Staying alive through something so bad, she says, has made her feel ready for anything that comes up in life. “You have to be thankful for every day you get,” Gina says.

Write to Win

Imagine you are a journalist reporting on the three women who were lost in Death Valley. Write an article explaining how they got lost and what they did to survive. Use details from the article and the text features. Send it to “Death Valley Contest” by December 15, 2023. Five winners will each receive a $20 gift card for the online Scholastic Store Online. Visit the Storyworks Contests page for more information.

Write to Win

Imagine you are a journalist reporting on the three women who were lost in Death Valley. Write an article explaining how they got lost and what they did to survive. Use details from the article and the text features. Send it to “Death Valley Contest” by December 15, 2023. Five winners will each receive a $20 gift card for the online Scholastic Store Online. Visit the Storyworks Contests page for more information.

This article was originally published in the October/November 2023 issue.

This article was originally published in the October/November 2023 issue.

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Step-by-Step Lesson Plan

Table of Contents

1. Preparing to Read

2. Reading and Discussing

SEL Focus, Close Reading, Critical Thinking

3. Skill Building and Writing

4. Differentiate and Customize

Striving Readers, Advanced Readers, Multilingual Learners

5. Can’t-Miss Teaching Extras

1. Preparing to Read

Watch a Video, Preview Vocabulary, Set a Purpose for Reading

  • Introduce students to the setting of the article and build background knowledge with our awe-inspiring video “Virtual Field Trip: Welcome to Death Valley.” Afterward, students can answer the Video Discussion Questions.
  • Show or digitally assign the Vocabulary Slideshow to introduce challenging words in the article. Follow up with the Vocabulary Skill Builder before or after reading. Highlighted words: attractions, brutal, critical, grim, over the moon, remote, scorches, scouring, stranded, wilderness.
  • Call on a student to read aloud the Up Close box on page 4 to set a purpose for reading.

2. Reading and Discussing

  • Read the article together as a class or in small groups. Students can read the on-level version (from the print magazine) or the lower-Lexile version. Alternatively, they can listen to the Audio Read-Aloud on either level.
  • Put students into small groups or pairs. Ask them to discuss or write their answers to the close-reading and critical-thinking questions. 

Close-Reading Questions

 

  1. Reread the opening section of the article. What makes  Death Valley one of the most dangerous places on Earth? (key details) Death Valley is dangerous because it is one of the hottest places on Earth. The extreme heat makes it hard to breathe and makes people likely to become severely dehydrated and injured.
  2. How does the author, Kristin Lewis, create suspense in the first three paragraphs of the article? (author’s craft) The author creates suspense in the first three paragraphs by describing in detail what makes Death Valley dangerous to people. Then she tells us about something scary: Three women got stranded there. In the third and final paragraph of the story’s introduction, Lewis doesn’t tell us whether the three women make it out of Death Valley alive; this keeps us hooked and waiting to find out what happened. 
  3. Based on the section “Extreme Heat,” why did the three women choose to visit Death Valley? (text evidence) The three women likely chose to visit Death Valley because it is a popular tourist attraction. One of the women, Jenny Leung, was a student from China. The two women hosting her, Donna and Gina, wanted to show her amazing places in the American West. Death Valley is one of them. 
  4. What do you think brutal means based on the information in the section “Extreme Heat”? (vocabulary) Based on the information in “Extreme Heat” that describes how hot it gets in Death Valley, brutal probably means intense, severe, or deeply unpleasant. 
  5. Repetition is the repeated use of a word or phrase to draw attention to an idea. What does the repetition of the word drove on page 7 tell us? (author’s craft) The repetition of the word drove makes us pay attention to how long and far the women probably traveled through the desert. The repetition also tells us that they couldn’t find a safe place to stop, which emphasizes the danger they were getting into. 
  6. According to “A Wrong Turn,” why didn’t the GPS help the women find their way out of Death Valley? (text evidence) The GPS couldn’t help the women find their way out of Death Valley because this device sometimes doesn’t work properly in remote areas. 
  7. Reread “The Search Begins.” How did Donna’s credit card purchase help the California Highway Patrol (CHP) search for the women? (inference) Donna’s credit card purchase helped the California Highway Patrol begin looking for the women because she had bought a shirt at Scotty’s Castle. This was a clue that the women were somewhere near Scotty’s Castle in Death Valley. 
  8. In the section “Rescued,” why do you think a helicopter was needed to rescue the women? (inference) A helicopter was probably necessary because being on the ground in Death Valley is dangerous. It would likely take too long to find the women in a car or on foot; in a helicopter, rescue teams can search for signs of life on the ground more quickly and without being exposed to the desert’s harsh climate. 
  9. Why does Lewis compare the gas station to the finest restaurant in the world? (author’s craft) Lewis compares the gas station to the finest restaurant in the world because while the three women were in the desert, they had hardly anything to eat. Before they were rescued, they were probably fearful that they might never eat again. After their rescue, any food would seem delicious. Because the first food they had access to was at a gas station, the snacks they ate there seemed amazing, similar to how we might experience food in a fine restaurant. 

 

 

 

Critical-Thinking Questions

  • How did the three women survive in Death Valley? (summarizing) The three women in Death Valley survived with a combination of luck and survival skills. They used their car to get to a safe place to wait to be rescued, and when their car ran out of gas, they wrote for help in the dirt caked on it. When they found food and water at a campsite, they used it to stay nourished. They also waved a brightly colored blanket to signal to the helicopter for help. Luck was also a part of their survival. They fortunately found a green patch of land to wait for rescue and discovered water. The three women’s car had also seemed to run out of gas but sprang back to life right when they needed it. 

  • After reading the article, would you choose to visit Death Valley? Why or why not? Use details from the article and text features to explain your answer. (making connections, key details) Answers will vary. 

3. Skill Building and Writing

Featured Skill: Text Features

  • Distribute the Text Features Skill Builder (available on two levels) or assign the Slide Deck
  • Read the writing prompt in the “Write to Win” box on page 9. As a class, brainstorm ideas for what could be included in a newspaper or magazine article about the three women’s experience. Distribute the Write a News Article activity. After students complete their articles, you can send their work to our writing contest (see page 2 of the magazine for details).

Differentiate and Customize
For Striving Readers

As students read the article, have them create a list of places the three women went during their time in Death Valley and what they did there. Ask your students to use this list to make a simple timeline describing why the women visited Death Valley and how they made it out. Invite them to use printed photos from the article or drawings to illustrate the timeline. 

For Advanced Readers

Invite students to research a fact from the “Lost in Death Valley” article  or Virtual Field Trip video that they would like to know more about. Potential topics could include the history of human travel through Death Valley, plants and animals native to the area, or popular tourist attractions in Death Valley. Have your students write an explanatory essay, a piece of creative writing, or a presentation based on their findings. 

For Multilingual Learners

This story uses some idiomatic words and phrases that multilingual learners might benefit from discussing. As you read the story with students, pause to make sure they understand these expressions: “Their chances of survival were slim” (p. 6): They had little or no chance of survival; “The car sprang to life” (p. 8): The car started again; “but Donna was over the moon” (p. 8): Donna was extremely happy or relieved; “for anything life may throw at her” (p. 9): for any challenges she might experience in life.

Can't-Miss Teaching Extras
Go on a Virtual Tour

Introduce your students to the beauty of Death Valley in this scenic three-minute video tour that features the Eureka Dunes, the Racetrack, Mesquite Dunes, Badwater Basin, Darwin Falls, and more. Then discuss: Is the beauty worth the trip? (Note: The video starts after a short ad.)

Do a National Park Service Activity

Explore this fun Kid Ranger Workbook created by the National Park Service. Activities that will teach your students more about Death Valley include an infographic about desert land formations, a desert habitat word search, an educational maze activity, and a Death Valley-themed writing activity

Learn Survival Tips

Discuss this article’s helpful survival tips to use when lost in the desert to better understand how the three women survived in Death Valley. (Note: The page contains ads.)

Explore the Nature of Death Valley

Have your students research the plants and animals native to Death Valley on the National Park Service’s website

Text-to-Speech