Marooned: Tales of the Catastrophically Lost
Join hosts Aaron Habel (Generation Why) and Jack Luna (Dark Topic) as they journey through harrowing tales of the catastrophically lost.
Episodes
Amanda Eller
On May 8, 2019, 35-year-old physical therapist and yoga teacher, Amanda Eller, set off on what she thought would be a hike along a trail in the Makawao Forest Reserve, Hawaii. Part way through the hike, she realised she had become disorie…
The Tunnel Creek Crash
On September 20, 2004, a Cessna 206 aircraft crashed while flying to a rural Schafer Meadows airstrip in Montana. Of the five people on board, only two would survive. Burned, injured, and presumed dead, forest service workers Jodee Hogg a…
A Grizzly Attack
In August of 2017, experienced hunter and avid outdoorsman, Jeremy Evans, was scouting for sheep in the Alberta Rockies when he spotted a grizzly bear cub through his binoculars. Without warning, he was attacked by a mother grizzly bear f…
The Ă–rnen
In July of 1897, a team of three Swedish men, led by Swedish engineer Salomon August Andrée, climbed aboard the Örnen, a hydrogen balloon set to fly over the north pole in one of the first attempts to explore the Arctic by air. Almost as s…
Dead In The Water
In 1999, Swedish medical student, Anna Bågenholm, was skiing in Norway with friends when she fell through a frozen stream and became trapped under a thick layer of ice. Unable to free herself, and forced to wait for rescue, her body temp…
The Johnson Sea Link Incident
In June 1973, The Johnson Sea Link, a deep-sea submersible, went on a routine mission off the coast of Florida. The Sea Link quickly became entangled in the cables and debris of a sunken ship. Trapped 360 feet below the surface for over …
Misadventure in Bolivia
When the going gets tough, the tough get going. A well known phrase that could easily be applied to almost every survival situation. Unfortunately, when it really comes down to it; those who would like to get going can’t wait around for an…
Stuck
When it comes to social media, it is said that many are oversharing. Details of one's life including family members, where they live, and the troubles they are experiencing can be known by hundreds, if not thousands of other people. For som…
The Highest Fall
From the moment Vesna Vulović saw her friend wearing a flight attendant uniform she knew the job was for her. Vesna loved travelling to different countries and meeting new people. January 25th, 1972 was a day like any other for flight at…
The SOS Incident
Two hikers get lost in a park in Japan and a very large SOS made of birch trees leads rescuers to the pair. But the two hikers swear they had nothing to do with the sign and a subsequent search reveals human remains and a disturbing audio r…
The Lost Girls Of Panama
It’s not unusual for those in their early twenties to want to get out into the world and explore it. Plenty of young people have found themselves backpacking across foreign lands, sleeping in hostels and meeting strangers in strange places…
Alexander Selkirk
There are many similarities between the fictional stories of Robinson Crusoe and the Tom Hanks film, Castaway. Man becomes stranded on a deserted island, following a wreck. Man first struggles to survive, before becoming one with his surr…
Will To Live
We admire those willing to put themselves in such peril with the interest of exploration and discovery in mind, but with those who choose it for fun? It’s hard for the rest of us to wrap our heads around. Let’s take something common. …
Father Son Time
It’s always nice to get away for a day, or even a moment, with someone who had a hand in raising you. Buy them lunch. To repay one of those bags of food they prepared you before school. Sit down and listen. Something a child or teenager t…
Last Breath
Taking one last breath is something we all practice as kids, experimenting with how long we can hold out before seeing stars. On September 18th of 2012, saturation diver Chris Lemons found himself in an impossible game of life or death, t…
Lost On The Lava
Lost on a lava field. Trudging along for days on an ever growing expanse. Mocked by the choppy chuckle of helicopter blades that fly tourists overhead. They’re not looking for you. A grey speck on a chalkboard searching for the road you c…
The Coast Guard Disaster
It’s important to know what you're getting into, but in many of life's decisions there's a hard truth of that not being completely possible. Like when joining the United States Armed Forces for instance. No amount of literature or film ba…
The Luckiest Woman Alive
The idea of pulling a large parachute behind you until the wind catches it, then running down a mountainside until you're swept up into the air… is called paragliding. Some might argue that what was just described sounds more like a night…
Marooned Xmas Special
Luna and Aaron sit down to discuss drones, the Brian Thompson shooting, as well as look back on more than a year of Marooned. Happy Holidays, everyone. Much love. Â Â
Lewis Sweet
There's a lot to be worried about when out on the ice. Top of mind would be the threat of falling through. There's no more disconcerting a noise than that of a moaning fracture from beneath. Usually it's just the lake suffering some indig…
USS Indianapolis
One would think that if they were to become catastrophically lost, stranded - Marooned - that a major improvement to the situation would be if a thousand or so of one's closest buddies could somehow be with them. One would think. But with…
The Ednamair
In the summer of 1968, an English newspaper, The Sunday Times, proposed a contest - The Golden Globe Yacht Race - which challenged all comers to attempt the first single handed non-stop circumnavigation of the world. Many entered, but onl…
The Kim Family Road Trip
The family road trip brings to mind an overpacked station wagon, some unimpressed kids in the back, and a couple of adults arguing up front over a comically large map. It’s supposed to be a good time but in reality, usually, it’s a bit of…
Ada Blackjack
History is often written by the victors - or in this case - a man named Vilhjalmur Stefansson who made a living and a name for himself by using other people's money to put unsuspecting explorers in peril. This is the true story of Ada …
Beaconsfield Mine Collapse
Tuesday April 25th, 2006. 9:26 PM. The small mining town of Beaconsfield in Tasmania, Australia will soon find itself under the media’s spotlight - having lost the light of miners to collapse. Hey! Does anybody ever read the show not…
The Marooning of Philip Ashton
Maroon - to leave someone trapped and isolated in an inaccessible place, especially an island. Admittedly, stories that closely fit that definition are more difficult to come by than we originally thought. This episode, however, fits the …
Stranded In Space
To be stranded anywhere - Marooned - sucks. It’s going to be uncomfortable. You’re going to have to find a way to get through it, until rescue. Usually that means finding shelter, eating bugs, and drinking urine. You know the deal. But …
Heading For The Mountains
Marni Sheppeard (36) and Sonja Rendell (25) are both postgraduate students studying physics at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. Sonja and her longtime boyfriend have recently broken up and Sonja is noticeably hea…
The Kind Warrior
Timothy Treadwell, infamously known as “Grizzly Man”, referred to himself as The Kind Warrior. A nod to his tireless work in the wild as a documentarian and aspiring arbiter of all things animal. This unique character strove to become one…
My Name Is Juliane
The Jungle looks like a pretty fun place in cartoons. Appears to be a hot spot for adventure in the movies. Juliane Koepcke, a teenager at the time of this story, knew the adventure part. She, unlike most German teenagers, had spent time …
The Death Zone
On top of the world. You’d think you’d be jubilant. But at the peak of Mount Everest there’s little energy to celebrate. You’ve got about 20 minutes to enjoy the view, to take in your enormous accomplishment - before it’s time to go. You’…
Death Valley Germans
 Death Valley Germans. A German couple and two children head to the United States for a vacation. The vacation included a trip through Death Valley National Park which is where their trip goes terribly wrong. Please leave us a review in y…
Rinca Island
What could be worse than becoming lost at sea?. Without a boat. Drifting with the current… What could be worse?Hanging on to half a dozen other unfortunate souls, some wailing that they can’t hang on for much longer… Sharks swimming bel…
Chowchilla
Chowchilla, California. A summer school trip to the pool was meant to be a great time for 26 kids and their bus driver. And it was, until three spoiled young men tried to take a shortcut to success using some firearms and a buried moving va…
Crater Lake
Crater Lake, located amongst old growth forests in Southwestern Oregon, is the stuff of legend. In January of 1975, 19 year old Charles McCullar vanished while on a 60 day solo National Park touring adventure that came to an abrupt halt wh…
The Girl In The Well
The Girl In The Well 1987. Midland, Texas. Jessica McClure was just 18 months old when she unexpectedly fell into a water well. At the time, Midland was experiencing an oil bust and times were tough. But despite the town being down on its l…
Titan
June 18, 2023 was supposed to be a great day for Stockton Rush. He was piloting his Titan submersible down to see the wreckage of the RMS Titanic with Paul-Henri Nargeolet and three paying crewmembers aboard; Hamish Harding as well as Shahz…
KidNAPPED
Georgia, 1968. A college student is kidnapped from the hotel room she and her mom were staying in. Her captors place her in a fiberglass box, bury it in the ground, and demand $500,000 from her wealthy parents for her safe return. But while…
Freebird
The Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash. >>Please subscribe to Marooned so you never miss an episode. Find us on tiktok and instagram by searching: @visitmarooned | Thank you, Jack & Aaron. Sources: My Version of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Crash ( I was th…
The Walking Skeleton
Australian Ricky Megee became stranded in the Australian Outback for 71 days in 2006. When he walked out, he walked out as a skeleton. Source:  Left for Dead: How I Survived 71 Days in the Outback by Ricky Megee & Greg McLean >>Please subsc…