The Global network

When disaster strands two American tourists in the jungle, unable to walk and unlikely to be found, they have one hope: a phone with a dying battery

- Derek Burnett

AIMEE SPEVAK was supposed to be working. Actually, she was supposed to be on vacation—she had rented a cabin in the Pocono Mountains last August to get away from the New York City heat. But no one can ever truly break away these days and Spevak, a freelance medical writer, found herself stuck inside on this lovely summer day, finishing an assignment. She procrastinated a little, surfing the Web now and then. When she checked her Facebook news feed, she was delighted to see a notification from her friend Michael Lythcott. Lythcott was an intrepid traveller. In fact, he and Spevak had trekked through Nepal together a few years back. Spevak knew he was in Bali now and was glad to take a momentary vicarious trip.

AND THEN SHE read the post. Rather than seeing beautiful travel photos or a detailed narrative of Lythcott’s journey, Spevak saw a bright red background and a few stark words written in white: “Help. In danger. Call police.”

MIKEY LYTHCOTT, A 39-year-old graphic designer, had indeed travelled to Bali. He and his friend Stacey Eno, 25, had landed on the Indonesian island just the day before. Excited for their adventure, the two Americans had rented a scooter on the outskirts of Ubud and driven into town, where they stayed until the wee hours doing what they both loved: chatting with strangers from all over the world.

It was pitch-dark, well past 2 a.m., when they hopped back on the scooter and headed to their hotel. Lythcott had placed his iPhone in the pouch of the scooter and was using it to navigate. As they climbed a hill past the rice paddies and the jungle, he glanced down at the GPS and back up at the road—a curve ahead. Lythcott tapped the brakes to make the turn. He didn’t tap fast enough.