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"There's a little girl," Charlie told them, "I left her back at the cave. She has a broken leg, and she's in a lot of pain!"

"Is her name Jo Kiley?" asked one of the men.

"Her name is Jo," affirmed Charlie, "but I don't know what her last name is."

As they bandaged her ankle, Charlie told them who she was, and the circumstances of her finding Jo. Since she was unable to find the cave from the air, for she had used markers on the ground to find her way, the rescuers decided to let Charlie guide them back to the cave, which was unmarked on the map.

With a great deal of help from the men, Charlie managed to hobble back to where she had left Jo. She had been given medication for the pain, and could nearly put all her weight on the ankle. It was an hour before dusk, when Charlie limped back into the cave.

"Charlie!" cried the girl, in relief. "You came back!"

The men immediately left Charlie to go work on poor Jo.

"We're going to have to set the leg, before we can take her out," she heard one man say.

Mercifully, one of the rescuers injected Jo with pain medication, so the child would feel no pain during the process. More quickly than Charlie thought was possible, the leg was set, and Jo was lifted onto an orange flat bed, that had handles on all sides.

"Okay, little lady," said one of the men, "you're going for a ride now. Just close you're eyes, and you'll be fine."

Overhead, Charlie heard the loud sound of helicopter blades beating the air, as the aircraft got into position overhead, and began to hover. A line descended from the chopper down to the men. When they had secured it to Jo's orange bed, one of the men waved to the pilot, and the helicopter began to rise, taking Jo with it. With the orange bed dangling securely below, the chopper disappeared out of sight.

"There's no place to land the chopper," he explained. "We'll have to hike out on foot, tomorrow. Don't worry, ma'am. We have food and blankets, so you'll have a comfortable overnight stay."

Just then, Charlie heard the familiar sound of high pitched squeals and flapping wings, as dusk descended on the cave, once more. Thinking quick, Charlie grabbed the sleeping bag and tossed it over the men, hurriedly ducked under it, herself.

"The location is great," she joked to the others, "but the neighbors are impossible!"


By the time the rescuers brought in Charlie the next day, reports had surfaced that Wallace Shipley's fiancée had saved the life of an eight year old girl. As the rescue party reached the hospital, reporters and media barraged them with questions about Charlotte and her involvement in the rescue. Once inside the hospital, Charlie thanked the men for their help, and was led into an examination room by a doctor.

"Is Jo going to be all right?" asked Charlie, as he inspected her ankle.

"Jo is doing fine," he smiled.

"Did she have hypothermia?" asked Charlie, in a concerned voice. "I tried to keep her as warm as I could."

"You did a good job," complimented the doctor. "They tell me that the night before last, was slightly above freezing temperature."

Charlie sighed in relief. It had been a lot of responsibility, and she was glad that it was over.

"To be on the safe side, we'll need to X-ray your ankle to make sure there aren't any fractures," the doctor informed her. "Otherwise, it looks like all you came away with is a mildly sprained ankle."

"That was mild?!" exclaimed Charlie, a little incredulous that so much pain could be from a "mild" injury.

Just then, a nurse came in and whispered something to the doctor.

"Are you up for a visitor?" he asked.

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