Egor Shesterikov (left) and his mother Irina Fedorovskaya (right) recall their rescue from Angeles National Forest.
A pair of Taylor Swift fanatics – or “Swifties,” as many would call them – who found themselves lost in Angeles National Forest while in town for the pop star’s concert were rescued thanks to a safety feature on their phone.
Irina Fedorovskaya and her son, Egor Shesterikov, crossed the pond from the United Kingdom to catch Taylor Swift at SoFi Stadium this week. Among the festivities during their week-long vacation was a two-hour hike through the Arroyo Seco on Sunday. Their relaxing trek through the mountains, however, became a harrowing rescue from the wilderness when they found themselves lost in the forest.
“We could have died out there,” Shesterikov said to his mother in Russian.
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As the day progressed and became darker, the duo realized they were completely lost.
“I was afraid of darkness and weird animals; spiders and even frogs,” Fedorovskaya said.
With no food or water, however, peculiar critters were only a few of the various things among their worries.
“She had to drink from the river because she was just that thirsty,” Shesterikov said.
In an effort to call for help, Shesterikov reached for his phone. With the two deep in the forest, though, they were out of luck.
“When we tried dialing 911, it said there was no cell service,” he said.
Thankfully, the phone gave them another option and a new hope. The phone’s Emergency SOS service allowed search and rescue teams to find the mother and son via its satellite tracking. Shesterikov said he knew the service had worked once they saw search lights.
Assisted by the Los Angeles County Fire Department, the Montrose Search & Rescue Team were able to find the Swifties in hours. The department said without the phone’s satellite feature, their search could have taken days.
Fedorovskaya and Shesterikov were unharmed during their adventure and said they are happy to be alive. They added that they’re grateful to be back on track with their plans to see the “Blank Space” singer live.
"Of course, because it’s the whole reason … it’s kind of the whole reason for our trip,” Shesterikov said.
