POSTED: 3:37 pm CST January 21, 2005 UPDATED: 5:19 pm CST January 21, 2005

OMAHA, Neb. -- The calls made to 911 by two 20-year-olds who were lost in a snowstorm on Jan. 5 show the pair was confused about where they were.

Michael Wamsley and Janelle Hornickel called 911 from a cell phone in a rural part of the county just before 2 a.m. Jan. 5. They said they were looking for Hornickel's truck but were lost. Wamsley's body was found near the Platte River on Jan. 6 and volunteer searchers looked for Hornickel six days before her body was found at the bottom of a cliff on Jan. 12. Video

News Conference Video: 911 Calls Video: Dr. Nipper Talks About Autopsy Results Video: 911 Chief Outlines Calls Video: Watch KETV's Report

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Drug tests run during an autopsy on the bodies showed the both Wamsley and Hornickel had traces of methamphetamine, amphetamine and nicotine in their system when they died.

"Methamphetamine at high levels causes things like confusion, anxiety, you can hallucinate, and it can cause some other things that can cause physiological effects," said Dr. Henry Nipper, with Creighton University Medical Center, who performed the autopsies.

The first in a series of calls placed to 911 by the couple came just after midnight on Jan. 5. Douglas, Sarpy and Saunders county dispatchers picked up calls throughout that evening.

In one call made to Douglas County operators, Hornickel sounds scared and asks for help at her apartment.

Hornickel: "Hi, I'm in Omaha in the Mandalay Apartment complex, only right above them in the trees -- the wooded area. There are a lot of Mexicans and African-Americans and they're all dressed up in these (inaudible) costumes."

Hornickel told the 911 dispatcher that she was worried because a group of people were in her parking lot stringing vehicles into the trees.

Hornickel: "They're putting them in the trees."

911: "They're taking the cars apart and putting them in the trees?"

Hornickel: "Yes."

Throughout the series of early morning calls, Wamsley and Hornickel continued to insist they were near their apartment building on Poppleton Street, even though they were in a rock quarry in rural Sarpy County. The 911 tapes released by the Sarpy County Attorney's Office on Friday show dispatchers conferencing each other to try to find the couple's position. Police had been sent to look in the area of the Mandalay Apartments, but couldn't find anyone.

Later, another call placed to Douglas County dispatchers came in from Wamsley.

Wamsley: "We're out by a gravel pit, like 76th and Poppleton. We need some assistance, like, right now."

911: "Where are you?"

Wamsley: "It's an old abandoned, like, lakefront area where they have cattle. An old (inaudible) pump setup."

911: "I can't help you if you don't know where you are."

Wamsley: "Do you know where the Mandalay Apartments are?"

911: "75th and Poppleton?"

Wamsley: "Yes."

911: "What's the problem, sir."

Wamsley: "Freezing to death."

911: "Are you outside?"

Wamsley: "Yes."

911: "How'd you get there?"

Wamsley: "We had a vehicle that ended up breaking down and it..."

911: "Are you by a building?"

Wamsley: "We're just right down here by a pond. We're praying to God they'll let us go."

911: "Who will let you go?"

Wamsley: "Residents."

911: "Are you inside?"

Wamsley: "No."

Repeatedly, operators ask Wamsley for clues to his location.

Wamsley: "I went straight into here..."

911: "What was the last business you remember seeing?"

Wamsley: "I don't remember, I just moved here."

911: "I want to help you so bad hon, I want to find out where you're at."

The calls show how dispatchers tried to work together to find the couple.

Wamsley: "My girlfriend is freezing."

911: "We called three or four different sheriff's departments, we've talked to Omaha, we've talked to numerous people and no one can figure out where you're at."

Drug rehab therapist Mike Johnson, with Omaha's Stephen Center, said meth gives users an unusually high sense of well-being and can impair judgment.

"Typically when you use meth you can stay high for 12 to 24 hours," Johnson said. "If you're staying up for that period of time, you can go into sleep deprivation after a period of time that can cause you to hallucinate."

Doctors say hypothermia can also cause confusion and sometimes hallucinations.

Toxicology Report Shows High Levels Of Meth

High levels of methamphetamine were found in autopsy results for each of the two 20-year-olds. Wamsley had a methamphetamine level of 127 nanograms per milliliter in his blood and Hornickel had 495 nanograms per milliliter.

Nipper, said methamphetamine prescribed by a doctor -- for weight control or attention deficit disorder -- would create a level of 20 to 30 nanograms per milliliter.

"The levels of Wamsley and Hornickel were both above the therapeutic range. The levels found in the blood to indicate a level of impairment," Nipper said.

Sarpy County 911 Manager Dan Peterson said the 911 tapes from the calls placed by Wamsley and Hornickel show that disorientation.

"They were confused, they were disoriented, all of the things that go with this particular drug," Peterson said. "You'll see in the tapes, the dispatchers trying to get details about where they were callin' from, (but they were disoriented and couldn't provide it."

Marijuana and tobacco traces were also found during the autopsies.

Cause Of Death: Hypothermia

The cause of death was related to the low temperatures, according Sarpy County Attorney Lee Polikov. The pair were not dressed for the weather. Hornickel was in blue jeans and fashion boots with a higher heel and a long-sleeved T-shirt, and Wamsley was in a hoodie sweatshirt and jeans. Neither was wearing a coat, authorities said.

"It's obvious from the report that the cause of death was hypothermia and that there were no other significant injuries on either of the parties," Polikov said.

Nipper said that could be a side effect of the meth.

"(A user) can feel very hot, which would mean you wouldn't dress appropriately for the weather," Nipper said.

Related Arrest Made In Kearney

Some meth was found in Wamsley's truck, too. A 0.3-gram sample of meth that tested at 90 proof -- the level of "ice" or crystal meth -- was found in the truck.

Sarpy County Chief Deputy Jeff Davis said part of the reason the autopsies and 911 tapes were not released until Friday was an attempt by law enforcement to figure out where Wamsley and Hornickel may have got the drugs. To that end, law enforcement officers in Kearney, Neb., made two arrests for possession of a controlled substance early Friday morning. Judy Morel, 56, and her son, Mica Morel, 19, were arrested.

Davis would not say how the arrests were related to the meth found in Wamsley's truck. Polikov indicated there may be more arrests in the future.

Law enforcement said it appears the couple was in a number of places within two to three days of their deaths, including Geneva, Kearney and Omaha.

Sarpy County said they paid $55,000 in salaries to their deputies working the case. That charge to the taxpayers does not include the Nebraska State Patrol, Omaha police, Saunders County officials or National Guard help.

Submitted on 01/25/2005

Submitted by: Victor DaGraca
Reference: omahachannel.com jan 21, 2005

Copyright © 2005 DarwinAwards.com

Daniel said:
Definitely Keep: For Darwin's Eyes
Much more information on this story.

Charles said:
Definitely Keep: For Darwin's Eyes
I still hold that this one is not worthy of a Darwin, but I realize that my earlier comment may yet be overruled, so I'll mark this for Darwin's eyes. My earlier comment: The only real stupidity is getting hooked on crystal, the rest of the story is these two doing the best they can to deal with drug disorientation and the snowstorm; and though it may sound callous, drug addicts die every day.

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