From desperate situations in the wilderness to terrifying accidents, join us as we explore remarkable farewell messages from people who faced death but lived to tell their tales. These emotional recordings remind us of human resilience and the will to survive against overwhelming odds.
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00:00Be sure of it. I would appreciate it.
00:02Ralston would continue to record these video messages for the next four days.
00:07Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at the most harrowing and emotional goodbyes
00:11from people who survived dangerous situations.
00:15A man cool as could be records what he believes are his last moments on this planet.
00:21Number 10, Paula Lane.
00:23She was missing for nearly a week, and this morning 46-year-old Paula Lane is lucky to be alive.
00:29In 2012, 46-year-old Paula Lane and her boyfriend were driving in the latter's Jeep
00:35when they became isolated in a devastating snowstorm.
00:38Lane's boyfriend left to find help and never returned.
00:41Clifton went off searching for help, leaving Lane to fend for herself.
00:46Lane, fearing for her own life, left a goodbye message for her sons,
00:50telling them, I'm so sorry this has happened, and even scarier, nobody's ever going to find me.
00:56However, she also claimed with some confidence that she was leaving in the morning to find help.
01:01She proceeded to trek seven miles in six feet of snow, surviving on tomatoes and sleeping in hollow trees.
01:08After six days in the freezing wilderness, Lane was found by her own brother,
01:12who had been using a friend's front loader to find his missing sister.
01:15Doctors say Lane has a mild case of frostbite, but is doing surprisingly well.
01:20Number 9. Taha Erdem.
01:23Back in February 2023, Turkey and Syria were struck by a number of catastrophic earthquakes.
01:29These affected millions of people, including Turkish teenager Taha Erdem.
01:34He and his family were sleeping when the first earthquake hit.
01:37Unfortunately, the damage was horrendous, and Erdem's apartment complex collapsed.
01:41Stuck in a mangle of concrete and steel,
01:44a surprisingly calm Erdem takes his phone out and films his final goodbyes.
01:48I think this is the last video I will ever shoot for you.
01:52Erdem also speaks of his regrets and says a Muslim prayer while accepting his tragic fate.
01:57The reason I shot that video was as the roof was getting closer to me, I thought that I was going to die.
02:03But fate was actually on his side, as neighbors soon found Erdem and pulled him from the rubble.
02:08Miraculously, the rest of his family were also found and saved.
02:12They were left homeless, but alive and together.
02:14But they are counting their blessings, that they still have each other.
02:20Number 8. Jennifer O'Neill.
02:22In 2022, just a few months before the Turkey-Syria earthquakes, Florida was struck by Hurricane Ian.
02:29Reaching winds of 160 miles per hour, Ian became the costliest hurricane in Florida history,
02:34causing $112 billion worth of damage.
02:38Jennifer O'Neill realized that the storm was worse than she thought,
02:41and recorded a final goodbye to her mother and father.
02:44So far, so good, as long as the house holds.
02:48In the video, O'Neill had already accepted her fate, stating,
02:52I didn't know if the next morning they were going to find my body.
02:55Once the storm intensifies, O'Neill says her final farewell,
02:59thanking her parents for everything they ever did.
03:01I love you, Mom and Dad. I love you. Thank you so much for everything I can.
03:06Luckily, O'Neill would be one of the survivors.
03:09Her friend Judd was able to rescue her in his personal boat.
03:13I grabbed, like, my dog's ashes and a couple pictures, and that was it.
03:20Number seven, Daryl Blake Jane.
03:22On November 18, 2006, Daryl Blake Jane of Washington left for a personal visit to Trout Lake.
03:29But his Jeep became stuck in a snowstorm, and he failed to arrive at a family gathering the next day.
03:34Jane lived inside his Jeep for nearly two weeks, surviving on the small rations of food and water that he had brought with him.
03:41He also spent his time lying inside his sleeping bag and periodically running the engine.
03:46Feeling hopeless of rescue, Jane eventually left a goodbye message to his friends and family members.
03:52But rescue did come, in the form of a private snowmobile team called the Drift Skippers.
03:57They were hired by Jane's family and found Jane on the isolated Forest Road 23.
04:01Number six, Robert Ringo.
04:05Joshua Tree National Park is one of the most popular parks in America, but it is nevertheless extremely dangerous.
04:11Hot, barren, and enormous, it's not the place you want to injure yourself.
04:15Unfortunately, in 2024, that's what happened to Robert Ringo, who slipped on some rocks and broke his leg.
04:21Citing unbelievable pain, Ringo was unable to move and was left exposed to the boiling desert sun.
04:28Ringo survived eating juniper berries.
04:30Fortunately, he also had extra water and made a canopy out of his hat.
04:35While he never lost faith, Ringo grew increasingly pessimistic and began filming his predicament.
04:40At one point, he even stated,
04:42Probably nobody will ever see this, indicating that he feared the worst.
04:46Probably nobody will ever see this.
04:48Luckily, that did not come to pass.
04:50Ringo's family had notified the authorities of his disappearance,
04:53and a rescue helicopter made contact after 40 long hours.
04:57I'm doing very well.
04:59I mean, extremely well mentally, spiritually, and emotionally.
05:02Number five, Marty Martinez.
05:05A crashing plane is one of our biggest collective fears,
05:08and Marty Martinez was one of the unlucky few to experience it firsthand.
05:13He was flying on Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 in 2018,
05:16when a horrific engine failure caused metal parts to break off and hit the fuselage.
05:22Um, and about five seconds later, all of the oxygen mass deployed,
05:27and immediately knew something was on, but, or something was wrong.
05:30A cabin window was damaged, causing explosive depressurization and one death.
05:35Fearing the extensive damage, Martinez hopped on Facebook Live
05:38and documented what he believed were his final moments.
05:41Luckily, the plane was able to make a safe landing in Philadelphia,
05:45saving 148 lives, including that of Martinez.
05:49He later posted photos of the damage as a memento.
05:52I just feel very lucky to be alive.
05:54Number four, Kevin Diepenbrock.
05:57The Dragon is a dangerous piece of road on U.S. Route 129,
06:01comprising 318 curbs in just 11 miles, about 29 curves per mile.
06:07In 2016, Kevin Diepenbrock and his friend Philip Polito
06:10were riding their motorcycles on the Dragon when Diepenbrock crashed into Polito,
06:15sending them both down a steep embankment.
06:17Polito was killed in the accident,
06:18but Diepenbrock survived with punctured lungs and broken bones.
06:23While he tried calling for help, no one came to his rescue,
06:26and he resorted to filming goodbyes for his family.
06:29Sorry as being stupid, but, you know, that's what I do.
06:35Bloodied and hoarse, Diepenbrock apologizes for, quote,
06:39being stupid and tells his family that he loves them.
06:42Love you, Courtney. Love you, Mom and Dad.
06:45Some passers-by finally heard his calls for help
06:48and notified the authorities, who rescued Diepenbrock after 27 hours.
06:53For somebody to hear me yelling out is truly divine intervention.
06:58Number three, Amber Conhorst.
07:00Hiking alone can be relaxing, but it's also very dangerous.
07:0425-year-old Amber Conhorst was walking on Arizona's Rose Cliffs Trail in 2016
07:09when she lost her footing and fell down a 100-foot hill.
07:13I was blacked out for all of this, so I don't know if that was my mind's way of protecting me or what.
07:18The damage was extensive.
07:19A broken nose, a partially torn ear, a crushed pelvis, and a fractured back.
07:24Her cell had no service, so she blew a whistle to alert nearby hikers.
07:28Unfortunately, it was late and no one heard her.
07:31After many hours alone and unable to move,
07:33Conhorst began writing goodbye letters on her phone.
07:36It's something the end with a heart.
07:39Luckily, Conhorst had previously checked into a bed and breakfast,
07:43and the owners grew suspicious when she didn't arrive back.
07:46They alerted the authorities, and a search and rescue team found Conhorst after 28 hours.
07:52Number two, Jacob Childs.
07:53We go from the desert to the sea for the story of Jacob Childs.
07:57Childs was scuba diving off Bundaberg, Australia in 2016
08:01when he became separated from the group.
08:03He was left bobbing in the water for six hours,
08:10attempting to alert the rescue helicopters that were flying overhead.
08:13With hope waning, Childs started filming himself.
08:16He's surprisingly calm throughout the ordeal,
08:19even bordering on nonchalant as he says,
08:21quote,
08:21That's a wrap on old Jakey.
08:24That's a wrap on old Jakey.
08:25However, one of the helicopters finally spotted Childs, and he was rescued.
08:29True to character, he was totally non-pulsed about the near-death experience.
08:33He claimed that he was warm, alert, and craving a cup of tea.
08:37He even stated with confidence, quote,
08:39I'll be in the water tomorrow, probably.
08:42I wouldn't say I was scared.
08:44Um, I was thirsty.
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09:01Number 1. Aaron Ralston
09:03And here we come to what could be the greatest survival story of the 21st century.
09:08It's certainly the most popular.
09:10Back in 2003, Aaron Ralston was in Utah's Blue John Canyon
09:14when he dislodged a massive boulder, which in turn pinned his arm to the canyon wall.
09:19It seemed to be solid, but as Ralston climbed over it,
09:23lowering himself off the backside of the boulder, it suddenly tumbled.
09:27He was unable to free himself and spent five days alone in the narrow canyon.
09:32Believing that he would die, Ralston carved his name into the canyon wall
09:36and filmed his final goodbyes with the video camera he had brought with him.
09:403.05 on Sunday.
09:44This marks my 24-hour mark of being stuck.
09:51But with one last surge of desperation, Ralston freed himself in grisly fashion,
09:57rappelled down a 65-foot cliff, and walked six miles before encountering some hikers and getting help.
10:03And I knew when I saw it that I'd made it.
10:08Are there any other memorable goodbyes that were fortunately unnecessary, which you cherish?
10:13Tell us all about them in the comments.