Okla. woman freezes to death in remote Mont. cabin
 

MISSOULA, Mont. – A couple from Oklahoma that moved to Montana's rugged mountains for a cheap place to live apparently got caught off guard by a snowstorm, with the woman freezing to death in their remote cabin.

Her common-law husband, suffering from hypothermia and starving, was found propped up against her body, with an array of weapons spread in a half circle in front of him, authorities said.

Mickey Charlene Davis, 67, had probably been dead for about two weeks when authorities reached the cabin Jan. 13, Powell County Sheriff Scott Howard said.

The man, 44-year-old Jack McWhorter, had only a few bouillon cubes in his pocket, Howard said. Their two cats and two of their three dogs were also dead.

"They'd been in there for months, and they just flat ran out of food," Howard said. "They didn't have good clothing, they didn't have any firewood cut, and no way to even start a fire."

McWhorter was evacuated by snowmobile more than 20 miles, and spent several days in a hospital. He declined to talk about the ordeal Wednesday, the Missoulian newspaper reported.

Howard said McWhorter and Davis apparently had their eye on the inexpensive 20-acre lot when they arrived sometime early last year. They had some sort of agreement with the landowner but "didn't realize what they were getting into."

"They planned to live there year-round," Howard said. "They saw an ad and thought that would be wonderful place to be, with absolutely no knowledge what a mountain snowstorm can do."

No one had seen the couple for months, until neighbors who lived three miles away asked two snowmobilers to check on them. Howard said McWhorter told the snowmobilers to call authorities because his wife was dead.

Authorities gave Davis a county burial in Deer Lodge after attempts to locate her family were unsuccessful. Her driver's license listed her hometown as Salina, Okla.

Howard said McWhorter is too emotional to talk much, but the sheriff figures things got bad starting when snowstorms hit in late November.

He found McWhorter sitting on the floor against his wife's body, with the weapons nearby.

"I don't know if he was worried about us," Howard said. "... I don't know what was going through his head."


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090129/...us/cabin_death

Re: Okla. woman freezes to death in remote Mont. cabin
 

They didn't even have a way to start a fire?? Makes the kid from "Into the Wild" look like a survival expert.

Re: Okla. woman freezes to death in remote Mont. cabin
 

why in god name was they out there , no way of cutting wood no food no way to make a fire dam

Re: Okla. woman freezes to death in remote Mont. cabin
 

Owned "survivalists".....

Re: Okla. woman freezes to death in remote Mont. cabin
 

Re: Okla. woman freezes to death in remote Mont. cabin
 

Great! We all really need 'survivalists' like these.

Matches/wood stoves 101.

Re: Okla. woman freezes to death in remote Mont. cabin
 

things like this can be avoided.... But if you want to live off "the grid" people need to understand, respect, and become one with "the grid"

Re: Okla. woman freezes to death in remote Mont. cabin
 

Same kind of mentality puts a child on the wild bear for a photo shoot....

Re: Okla. woman freezes to death in remote Mont. cabin
 

There's a reason it was such a cheap place to live. Not a place to be unless you know what you're in for and are prepared accordingly.

Re: Okla. woman freezes to death in remote Mont. cabin
 

Powell County is in Western Montana, it's not extreme cold like the eastern part of the state. I think one word can sum up their plight....stupidity. Hate to sound cold-hearted but I think I'm on target. I can't imaging anyone trying to winter in the mountains without at least 8 cords of wood on hand.

Re: Okla. woman freezes to death in remote Mont. cabin
 

I feel sorry for the cats and the dogs, as for the Darwins.....not so much.

Re: Okla. woman freezes to death in remote Mont. cabin
 

Re: Okla. woman freezes to death in remote Mont. cabin
 

Plenty of guns and food (the pets) but no way to make a fire...:banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

Re: Okla. woman freezes to death in remote Mont. cabin
 

Maybe they thought Obama would send someone out to cut wood, supply matches, and food?

Its hard to understand why and how someone would be so unprepared?

Re: Okla. woman freezes to death in remote Mont. cabin
 

Re: Okla. woman freezes to death in remote Mont. cabin
 

I wonder if they were members here.

Who could it be?

Re: Okla. woman freezes to death in remote Mont. cabin
 

Well, folks, here's yet another "stupid, crazy gun nut" article...

"All the news that fits."

Re: Okla. woman freezes to death in remote Mont. cabin
 

Maybe their preps were outside and got froze over?

I wanna go over there and look for their stash :)

Re: Okla. woman freezes to death in remote Mont. cabin
 

I wonder why he had his weapons all arranged in front of him.

Maybe he looked on them as magical talismans of protection.

Re: Okla. woman freezes to death in remote Mont. cabin
 

It is just plain stupid and sad.

Now, think about the next generation.

That gives me the willies.


scyth

Re: Okla. woman freezes to death in remote Mont. cabin
 

Perhaps the weapons were being made ready in case ManBearPig attacked.

Re: Okla. woman freezes to death in remote Mont. cabin
 

When I hear about this type of thing it always puzzles me. I find it hard to believe that they had 0 matches, no lighter, no lamp, no stove, NOTHING to make a fire. I just don't believe it, there has to be more to this story.

Re: Okla. woman freezes to death in remote Mont. cabin
 

Damp matches, no lighter. Run out of wood and fuel = dead.

Re: Okla. woman freezes to death in remote Mont. cabin
 

Whatever the reason.

I am blaming the government.

Re: Okla. woman freezes to death in remote Mont. cabin
 

It really boggles the mind. Their poor animals! (Yes, I feel badly for the humans, too, but they're the ones who made the choices.) My guess would be that they didn't realize how quickly you go through firewood in a cold winter and didn't count on not being able to get out of the cabin once the snows came. I'll bet they counted on disposable lighters to start fires, and didn't count on lighters going empty (or they counted on that type of cheap BIC lighter that has a tendency to stop working after a few uses). Really, it's hard to wrap one's head around how bad off they were.

Re: Okla. woman freezes to death in remote Mont. cabin
 

Possibly being from OK they weren't aware they could get socked in so early in the season.

Bad situation.

Re: Okla. woman freezes to death in remote Mont. cabin
 

It's a sad story, but it sounds like they were completely unprepared for the lifestyle change they thought they wanted.

Even living in Florida with our mild winters, it still gets cold enough that I'm always going to have a way to build a fire and keep warm if need be.

Re: Okla. woman freezes to death in remote Mont. cabin
 

This is very sad. I'll bet there is more to this story. The kid from 'Into the Wild' was not as stupid or unprepared as he was made out to be. Read the book. It is a hell of a fine read! He would likely have lived if he hadn't mistaken a poisonous wild plant for one that was edible. We are all wise and we are all fools. Just put us in the right situation.

Re: Okla. woman freezes to death in remote Mont. cabin
 

Darwin in action. Simple as that.

:confused_ma:

Re: Okla. woman freezes to death in remote Mont. cabin
 

You may/may not be joking but I think you are right.
He probably was in a weakened state of mind.
It is like they say about when all you have is a hammer everything looks like a nail.
He could not provide food or heat so he clung to what he had.
Gonna see a lot more of this.

Re: Okla. woman freezes to death in remote Mont. cabin
 

Nobody that hasn't gone through it would know that the cold will cut your IQ in half. Eight cords of wood is what is needed to make it all the way through a tough northern or mountain winter too. Do you have any idea how much that is? About 100-120 pounds a day for 150 days. Everybody that is thinking about faceing this should read Jack London's "To Light a Fire" and find out what Dante's 'Innermost Circle of Hell' is.