This Family Were Left For Dead In The Outback | I Shouldn't Be Alive S4 EP1 | Wonder

you when Matthew McGough and his daughter Shannon get lost in the Australian outback their camping trip descends into a living hell it was the worst moment of my life Matthieu faces a desperate battle to save his daughter it was just like it's hopeless we weren't gonna make in one of the most hostile places on earth we played together laugh together cried together and now we're gonna die together [Music] [Music] [Music] you ready in a remote town in Western Australia Matthew McGough and his young daughter Shannon are about to set off for an overnight fishing trip Shannon's merrily shau we had a really good relationship really real friends as well as father and daughter got on long really well always used to laugh and play together a lot for Shannon trips away with her dad are always something to look forward to me and my dad were pretty close we used to go away on weekends a lot we'd go fishing bushwalking go camping yourself cause that was kind of thing he liked to do a site Matthew is recently separated from his wife Irene but she knows how much Matthew cares for Shannon and she's more than happy to see them spend time together Jen and Daft camping and so they used to quite regularly go on camping trips and nothing ever happened so there was never any reason to worry sweetheart [Music] they live in a small town on the edge of Australia's great Victoria desert but terrain Matthew knows well the only way to get to see the countryside is to get off the beaten track and that's the ruling of always live by [Music] Wow the plan today is to drive just 40 miles into the outback can for the night and head back the next day [Music] nicest Matthew wants to make this trip an extra-special one as he's about to move 1,500 miles away and this may be their last weekend together for some time so he takes Shannon to his favorite rock pool it was a blast trip we were gonna see each other for a while so that's made a bit more special it was just a case of spend some time with Shannon for the last week or so before I took off [Music] nothing yet sweet up maybe later that night father and daughter enjoy Anna Dillon evening together in the outback my favorite parts is probably laying like under the stars and like watching them and dad would point out things that he knew from his childhood [Music] yeah just check out the Stars and the moon and listen to all that nightlife coming out to play like a kind of a bonding thing she was good all right let's go sweet up the next morning they're due to head back home it's been a great trip but one thing is missing they haven't caught any fish Shannon should looked up underneath to here and you could see she was a little bit disappointed so before returning Shannon home Matthew decides to take a detour to try and catch a sunfish listen sweet Oh oh good an idea jump in I sort of had a bit of a no idea where there was another damn fair right away but yeah and a general idea about where to go getting to the fishing spot means heading a further 50 miles away from civilization far deeper into the outback it's a vast expanse of desert covering more than 100,000 square miles dangerous and inhospitable one of the hottest places on earth the Australian outback is an unforgiving place it's very harsh the heat you're looking 45 degrees Celsius stinking or simple day but Matthew was confident that he knows the area well and has come well prepared there 20 litres of water spare toys food tent and all that I reckon I'll talk pretty much all I needed to take Matthew and Shannon drive for over two hours deeper and deeper into the desert but there's no sign of the waterhole we're just pretty much gone through a bush track not well defined on the ground or anything that's just virtually cut the wheel tracks gone through the scrub [Music] his 4x4 is a tough vehicle but Matthew is driving in ever rougher terrain it's a toy it's no problem Matthew has come well prepared and has three spare tires on board I wasn't in particularly good mood a change in a toilet time and a date I was sweating years bloody insight to the Bynes this order he what that's good ask with the tire fixed and two more spares in the back Matthew is still confident he can find the fishing spot but the desert is strewn with boulders and sharp rocks [Music] I'll die only got a couple miles and then I had to change another toy it's now mid-afternoon the hottest time of the day with temperatures hitting 115 degrees Fahrenheit and Matthew begins to have doubts about his quest to search for the rock pool I was just wondering whether it was all worth it or not pretty much but still eager to live up to the promise he made to Shannon Matthew decides to press on [Music] while my calculations were about halfway from where would come the prom to where we were going and what's the point of turning around Mars will continue on by late afternoon and sixty miles out into the desert Matthew fears he's losing his way sure it's radish someplace Oh sort of riding on a riot or lost me track [Music] I was sort of a little bit worried that we hadn't got to where we were going [Music] I could actually tell that dad was worried and used something serious was going on with just one spare tire left Matthew abandons his quest to go fishing and decides that it's time to get Shannon home I had one more spare tire but the way I was going through the toys I didn't think about it now [Music] we never feel right [Music] I was pretty peeved about the idea again the third puncher began in a stinger neat Matthew knows that the 4-byte fall is their only way out but with no more spares another puncture could be fatal with hundreds of miles of scorching desert all around there's no way they could ever walk out of here alive you know it's really [Music] good boy let's go Shannon said we lost that and I said oh I think so you know no use law in till you know Matthew presses on hoping to come across a track which will lead them to safety but just when he thinks he's making progress the 4x4 suddenly stops in its tracks [Music] or started rubbing my head thinking what was going on why me was such bad luck jump out speed up we are not going anywhere we run in a track run out of space was stuck it was supposed to have shown them back that night and we weren't going back there nor it was nowhere in the world as darkness falls Matthew and Shannon had no choice but to camp out for the night Oh benefit of bein just May it wouldn't be no matter but I had Shannon with me she was more minded soon she's always my mind concern when she's with me and then the remote out back he's unable to call his ex-wife if I couldn't find home I would have but they no reception absolutely no signal whatsoever at that point I was thinking that yeah mortar made the wrong decision by not turning around and going back house call himself as biggest idiot Under the Sun morning brings with it fresh hope the cold of the night has hardened the ground enough for Matthew to free the fall by floor we did it sweetheart what what we were feeling really good it was great to get out no worries at all pretty happy that we're gonna get on the way again whoa we are going hot but they've hardly got moving when disaster strikes again [Music] why take sweet another puncher I was cranky man was over cranky got normal space and yeah he's in trouble big time what happened dad I saw it sweetheart I've got a plan Matthew knows that driving with only one flat tire at the rear will put massive strain on the car's axle so he does what he has to to keep it moving he lets down one of his inflated good tires he also tries to hide from Shannon the seriousness of their predicament behind the same school so ended up having two tight tires on the front two flat tires on the back okay [Music] they crawl along at only 5 miles an hour completely lost in the vast big desert I was in fall driving I'll just push it along straighten the steering wheel up and just get going we'll be fine but running the car on two flat tires in this scorching heat is putting enormous strain on the engine we're in four-wheel drive which brings out the Reds of the engine a little bit and because I was concentrating what I was doing I wasn't watching the temperature the radiator and it boiled Matthew now faces a huge dilemma their car is their only means of escape but will go no further without water we had to put some water in the right out otherwise the water keep cook tomato but he has only 20 litres left and in the raging heat of the outback water is the key to survival it's a huge risk but Matthew is determined to get Shannon out of the desert and home safely I'll put ten litres of water in the radiator and I'll cap 10 liters first Chenin on yourself [Music] Matthieu struggles on but the strain on the engine is massive and it soon needs even more of his dwindling water supply because seem to be overheating all the time and my dad really didn't make it out that it was a big deal I'm sure inside he was probably really scared himself but he didn't let it show by midday the desert temperature hits 115 degrees [Music] whether was an electrical fault or whether it was dry grass pushed up around underneath the hot exhaust system I don't know and I noticed smoke coming out from underneath the bonnet he has just seconds to grab whatever possessions he can before the car explodes into flames like it okay they could do nothing as they watch the car burn their only means of escape is destroyed and we just sat down and watched it burn and nonskid than a cuddle and trying to reassure that would be Roy she was scared she was very scared what started as an innocent fishing trip has turned to disaster [Music] Matthews only way of getting Shannon out of the desert is gone [Music] he just looked really worried and I don't know there was just the vibe about him he wasn't his normal happy self so I could tell something was wrong [Music] I told her there and then that we will lost good dog big time that I'll do everything that I could to get it get us out of the mess okay I couldn't wind your complain about it I had to be determined and how to be brave because there wasn't really much else like I do [Music] it's been 36 hours since Shannon was due home her mom Irene is called the police and they've launched a search hello nothing door but there still no sign of Shannon and her dad all right all right just let me know what it's just really really scary I couldn't sleep I was just worrying where they are and there's nothing you can do you want to do something but you but you can't match the fire has taken almost all their possessions they're left with just the outer cover of their tent a few tins of food and just two liters of water new water was gonna be a fairly big issue we didn't have a lot of water in the sweltering heat shannon is already suffering the effects of dehydration I remember my skin felt really dry and tired and having headaches and feeling dizzy in these extreme conditions an average person needs at least one liter of water per hour I sort of thought then that Shannon gonna have to keep an eye on what she drank you know like I did ration her again I still wasn't drinking much I probably have a sip here and there and that was it she's gonna try and conserve the water for Shannon more than me I probably needed more than she did but hey hmm why you think at the time Matthew set out wanting to make his weekend with Shannon a special one but he now knows they're both in big trouble I was not real happy with myself cause the driver was the dead was my fault that we were there but can't dwell on it too much got to do something about it that's all I was doing that's what I was gonna do [Music] it's been two days since the car caught fire and Matthew is determined to get Shannon to safety but stranded in the endless expanse of Outback their situation is looking bleak er with every passing hour then on the horizon Matthew spots something it's an old radio tower a possible lifeline and I thought maybe I can get out there and get some mobile phone reception you know I get up I get a signal he knows the best chance of them being rescued is to stay put the golden rule in the outback is don't leave your vehicle if somebody is an area and can't find you they'll come to that vehicle but he also knows that they're now so far from their original fishing spot but any search party could take days to find them the golden rule goes out of the window when you don't think there's any possible chance of anybody finding you where you are [Music] yeah we're getting a guy with precious little water left Matthew was not prepared to sit and wait and risk watching his daughter died I had to sort of think about how to get us out of here so it seemed the right thing to do to head for that hill but distances in the outback are deceiving and already severely dehydrated in the 115 degree heat it's a decision that could kill them [Music] the hill didn't say that far away but because it was so hot we had to stop Mapes and heip storms the closer we got to the distance just seemed to go further and further and further seem that we're never going to get me a lot of sweating a lot of reassuring Shannon we'd be right sorry it's pretty harsh it takes four excruciating hours for Matthew and Shannon to finally make it to the tower it's a rickety old structure but his only hope of gaining enough height to get a signal and call for help the dangers of climbing mast falling break my neck leg whatever just didn't think of it just did it careful daddy I had to get the highest point that I could to several bein signal from a mobile phone but he's just so far out in the desert that even at this height there's not even the faintest signal so stuck a back in me pocket ain't going back down the mosque disappointed okay it's that fifth night out in the wilderness and they now face yet another challenge the temperature suddenly plummets to below zero and without their tent they're at the risk of hypothermia that night the temperatures dropping it is freezing cold it's getting colder and colder a lot on hard ground I kept building fire so shadow could keep warm I'll wrap myself around it to try and get my body heat into it I couldn't sleep at all I was too worried about getting us out of here and even though Shannon is here with me now I just felt so alone Matthew and Shannon have been living on scraps of food and sips of water for nearly three days [Music] we originally down to no water and I think we're only asking a food out of options they can only sit and pray the rescue [Music] the helicopter sort of came towards the mast a search helicopter flies by almost directly overhead but in the vast expense of the desert they're just too tiny to be spotted I just felt devastated I was just yeah felt lousy absolutely lousy just couldn't believe they didn't say so in the hope that the chopper may return Matthew decides to send up a smoke signal I was thinking that why not start a bushfire surely that would attract somebody's attention in the arid outback the desert scrub is like a tinderbox well the fire caught a lot quicker than what I thought it would suddenly the wind changes direction and the acrid smoke billows over wrap my arm around her and pulled a heading towards my chest because the smoke was so thick we're choking on it the fire dies but the smoke fumes force them to drink the last of their precious water supply it also burnt all of their remaining possessions they're now left completely exposed to the ravages of the Australian outback [Music] [Music] it's now been 12 hours since their water ran out a lack of water will kill an adult within days but Shannon is just a small child [Music] it just seemed like we weren't gonna make it not one thing that I was trying to do to save us or to get us rescued or to attract attention was working Shanon if we don't get found today I'd doubt very much whether we'll get through tomorrow I doubt very much at all all I wanted was just Eva home and having my dad telling me that that might not happen that I might not be able to do that it was it was quite quite upsetting for me Oh made me feel useless it's a big letdown for yourself when you feel like you can't provide for you for your daughter in the way you should [Music] Matthew decides that their only hope of being spotted is to strike out in the direction from which the helicopter came [Music] the reason I thought of going down towards the open ground people that have more of a chance to say us but walking on in the blazing midday Sun only dehydrates them further [Music] the heat flies mosquitoes at naught dust no sleep for three days and nights I was stuffed no other way of putting it I was absolutely naked Shannon can take little more the heat has exhausted her and she's now so weak she can barely walk I wish that I had the energy to be able to pick her up and carry her but all it didn't have that I might take two or three steps but yeah that was it no I had to put it down again I couldn't do it [Music] that's probably a very very hard thing for a dead day or for any person I'd say to be able to understand that you can't pick your own girl up you can't pick your own child up and carrier you just don't have the energy to do it and that's pretty hard thing to come by I to understand very hard [Music] it's now been 24 hours since Shannon is drunk any water desperate Matthew considers a terrible option giving her a drink of his own blood that idea came from watching documentaries on telly I know this African tribe over there that can cut the vein on on a cow and drink the blood from it [Music] I've got the noise and I'll put it on my wrist and applied some pressure but it didn't happen and I realize that my North was just way too blunt it was sort of a last resort really you know Matthew had wanted this weekend to be a very special one with his precious daughter now he knows that without water or rescue she could be dead within hours yeah we had to be cried again even though there was no tears there's a lot of solvent but there was no tears whatsoever we were to try and even cry to you and even to think about it near like a field said feel out on a burst EMTs actually so say yeah you know it's just one of those things hum and I'd hate to ever put Shannon through that again back at her home Shannon's mom is running out of hope that her daughter will be found alive looking up to the heavens and thinking you know if you be you know show yourself by bringing her home I would have promised everything in anything to have to have her back safely their plight is hopeless but Matthew won't give in til he's done everything he can to save Shannon I couldn't sleep I had to get us rescued and that was all I was taught I've got a blog burning and I took that out on to the sweat and just started waving it around just trying to get attention somebody's attention anybody's attention [Music] melanoma this bloody said a headlight to hidden straighteners [Applause] the car was coming towards us and then it just veered off the driver of the vehicle doesn't see him and their chance of rescue disappears into the night the feeling of elation just got shot down in flames to see those taillights disappearing into the distance was just the worst moment of my life [Music] with the chance of rescue gun Mattie was convinced that he and Shannon will not survive the night we played together laugh together cried together and now we're gonna die together [Music] all rescue efforts have failed to find matthew and shannon McGough and they've gone two days without water in the ferocious eat extreme dehydration is causing Shannon's organs to shut down she and her dad are both close to death I doubt very much whether we would have survived an eighth day pretty bad as your relation [Music] then just when all hope is lost they come across a track it's where the car must have driven past them tonight before I was not going to leave the track were following it in the hope that this vehicle would come back or another vehicle had come through [Music] but Shannon can go no further [Music] Chenin wasn't so much at all they're very very quiet I'd speak to her and she justshe cared or not to head up and down but she wouldn't speak so hmm just hiding exposed to the scorching Desert Sun Matthew needs to protect his dying child from the unbearable heat it was boiling the hate had risen big-time hotter than last few days and on you that I needed to get Shannon into the shade so I dug a hole in the ground so that I could put Shannon in it and then cover her back over and that would keep her a bit cooler than sitting out in the open but in this remote part of the Outback there's no guarantee they'll see another car for days even weeks Matthew knows he may have just dug his daughter's grave [Music] I was extremely sad because I've brought my daughter out into this wilderness and that I put her life in danger after eight days battling to keep himself and his daughter alive Matthew finally gives up [Music] it was just like it's hopeless there's nobody here nobody can see us nobody will see us we were gonna actually die of thirst it's slow agonizing death [Music] and then the dad rushing back over and waking me up and saying that have been found after eight days in the outback their ordeal is finally over I've felt an enormous weight lift off the shores felt fantastic it's roomy with carpooling up its little girl cover you and me just crying and crying and putting her in my arms and she said I know why are you crying man because you're happy to see me that I was yeah doctors estimate that when Shannon was found she had just a few hours to live yeah out so it's a miracle despite their ordeal Matthew and Shannon are still close and still go camping together dad probably takes more supplies now and we don't go as far but doesn't really change the fact that we still go camping I think there was a stronger bond as a result although the next time we went camping I wanted to go down this track and she said don't you dare that you stick to this one

Channel: Wonder

Views: 2,566,931

Rating: 4.8021507 out of 5

Keywords: wonder, i shouldn't be alive, i shouldn't be alive full episodes, wonder i shouldn't be alive, i shouldn't be alive lost in the outback, i shouldn't be alive a dad's worst nightmare, i shouldn't be alive s4 ep1, i shouldn't be alive series 4, lost in the outback, surviving in the outback, Australian outback, survival stories, true story, true survival stories, Matthew mgough, dad and daughter survival, trapped in the outback, how to survive in the outback

Id: qxOEtQggD4c

Length: 48min 9sec (2889 seconds)

Published: Sat Jul 14 2018