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A Vacation That Turned FATAL - The Death Valley Germans

73K views · Feb 13, 2026 · Entertainment

Comments · 450

  • @ENK231 · 7 months ago

    If only we had named that area something that would give foreigners an idea of how dangerous it was.

    197

  • @theOni877 · 7 months ago

    I feel for those poor people. They didn’t make it far from where their vehicle broke down. They were so far out of reach that chances of help were not good. May they rest in peace🙏

    64

  • @SylviaRoss-f2r · 7 months ago

    Consuming alcohol in extreme heat is the worst thing you could do - guess they probably didn't know.

    57

  • @suet.r.4815 · 7 months ago

    My family hosted a foreign exchange student from Germany when I was a kid. &nbsp;He... and his family really had no concept of the size of the Continental United States. &nbsp;We lived in Wyoming on a ranch, and we had a difficult time convincing him that we couldn&apos;t just get into the car and drive to New York City and see the sights in the span of 8 days&apos; vacation.<br>We went to the Grand Canyon, instead.. &nbsp;Three long days&apos; drive down, two days exploring canyon country, and two very long days&apos; drive back... because we weren&apos;t wealthy, and we had car trouble. &nbsp;(Good thing my brother was a mechanic.)<br>The young man my family hosted came from a wealthy family. &nbsp;And he firmly believed that nobody - especially &quot;poor people&quot; would host a kid from another country without getting paid. &nbsp;- We did not get any compensation, but I don&apos;t think he ever believed that.<br>Needless to say, everybody got an education. &nbsp;I digress.<br>My point, however, was that the &quot;new world&quot; is a completely unfathomable world for many from across the pond.<br>This story is incredibly sad. &nbsp;I dearly wish this family had made friends with locals who could have redirected them from the deadly danger that they got themselves into.

    200

  • @simonfea2 · 7 months ago

    When I watch videos about this case, I always invariably feel a deep sadness for the father and mother of the two boys who passed away. They never saw their babies again! I think the older one should&apos;ve been around 40 now.

    52

  • @erisQ23 · 7 months ago

    That was very depressing. Usually it&apos;s cute, the way Europeans will misunderstand scale on our maps, but this is horrific.

    35

  • @dorray7850 · 7 months ago

    I will never understand why they didn&apos;t go back to the geologist&apos;s cabin. Not only was that a guaranteed shelter they knew about but there was a high probability that they would find a radio to call for help.

    58

  • @denialma · 7 months ago

    Mother Nature is undefeated

    68

  • @Randy.E.R · 7 months ago

    Thank you for covering this story. I&apos;ve been waiting for someone to give it some attention before it&apos;s forgotten.<br><br>I work as a mechanic for a public utility that serves Death Valley up to the Nevada border. My job takes me through the area two to three times a month, and I&apos;ve lost count of the number of foreign tourists I&apos;ve seen who have no idea what they&apos;re getting themselves into. It&apos;s a wonder any of them survive.<br><br>Most people assume that the heat is the biggest threat to visitors in the desert, especially in Death Valley. And while it&apos;s true that the heat can be fatal in a short time, it&apos;s not the only danger. Unlike other parts of California, like Los Angeles, this area doesn&apos;t have a marine layer to moderate the temperature in the winter. As a result, the temperature can drop below freezing at night, making it just as possible to freeze to death in the winter as it is to die of dehydration in the summer. The spring and fall bring strong winds, with gusts of up to 80 mph, which can make it difficult to be outside. The wind also picks up sand, making it feel like you&apos;re being sandblasted. And then there are the desert monsoons, which can cause flash flooding in a matter of minutes. These storms are unpredictable and can be deadly, especially for people who aren&apos;t familiar with the area. I&apos;ve seen people try to drive through flooded areas, only to be swept away and found dead miles from where they started.<br><br>Death Valley is a unique and beautiful place, but it demands respect. To visit safely, you need to plan carefully and let someone know your itinerary. Don&apos;t assume that if you get lost, a helicopter will be sent to look for you right away. In reality, the weather conditions in Death Valley have to be perfect before a helicopter can fly, and even then, it&apos;s not always possible. The valley&apos;s windy conditions make it a challenging place for helicopters to operate.

    18

  • @lyedavide · 7 months ago

    What a horrible way to die. The only thing worse than underestimating your objective is overestimating your ability to deal with problems you might face. RIP to all who perished.

    38

  • @ChicagoFaucet.etc. · 7 months ago

    Fun Fact: &nbsp;Death Valley has the lowest point in the continental United States. &nbsp;The highest point in the continental United States is Mount Whitney, which is only about 100 miles from the lowest spot in Death Valley.

    31

  • @PFBM86 · 7 months ago (edited)

    This might be the best doc that this channel has put out. Very thorough research with clear explanations detailing the family&apos;s final days and the series of events that conspired to lead them to their fate. The case photos and the satellite view tracking their route through the desert also helped to highlight the hopelessness of their situation. I&apos;ve heard about this case many times and I still learned a lot of details from this video that I didn&apos;t know about. Great work Andrew!

    15

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