Next Discovery Channel rebroadcast?

[Ric Gillespie]

What was it that got to him?

Heat.  He had done quite a bit of work in Africa and I guess he thought Niku would be no big deal.  In all fairness, he was operating at a disadvantage.  Some of his personal gear had not arrived in Samoa so he came ashore at Niku the first day with a make-shift water bottle and no hat. I was giving the new people who had just arrived on the second boat a tour of the abandoned village and I was taking it easy because it does take time to acclimate (the rest of us had already been there for two weeks).  He was carrying a big camera and rushing around trying to shoot everything and it was just too much.  He was shooting an interview with me beside Gallagher's tomb and had to stop because he was about to pass out.  After that, the ROV team aboard ship became a much more attractive subject for filming.

[Nancy Marilyn Gould]

What was it that got to him?

Heat.  He had done quite a bit of work in Africa and I guess he thought Niku would be no big deal.  In all fairness, he was operating at a disadvantage.  Some of his personal gear had not arrived in Samoa so he came ashore at Niku the first day with a make-shift water bottle and no hat. I was giving the new people who had just arrived on the second boat a tour of the abandoned village and I was taking it easy because it does take time to acclimate (the rest of us had already been there for two weeks).  He was carrying a big camera and rushing around trying to shoot everything and it was just too much.  He was shooting an interview with me beside Gallagher's tomb and had to stop because he was about to pass out.  After that, the ROV team aboard ship became a much more attractive subject for filming.

When I read what you write, I find it amazing that AE lasted more than a few days on that island, especially since she had no ready source of water.

[Tom Swearengen]

that is the most probable answer for their demise. 3 or 4 days in that environment with little to no water or food, the heat, and other obstacles. Little wonder why the overflight on the 9th didnt yield any castaways.

[Ric Gillespie]

The castaway who lived and died at the Seven Site had figured out how to get sufficient food and water to survive long enough to find the site, set up housekeeping there, and leave behind considerable evidence of their residence. That's not 3 or 4 days.

[Bruce Burton]

The castaway who lived and died at the Seven Site had figured out how to get sufficient food and water to survive long enough to find the site, set up housekeeping there, and leave behind considerable evidence of their residence. That's not 3 or 4 days.

Tom King's fictionalized version in "Thirteen Bones" has at least one person surviving until October 13, 1937 -- over three months.  I assume this was not just an arbitrary guess on his part but was an informed estimate based upon the available evidence.  :)

[Ric Gillespie]

Tom King's fictionalized version in "Thirteen Bones" has at least one person surviving until October 13, 1937 -- over three months.  I assume this was not just an arbitrary guess on his part but was an informed estimate based upon the available evidence.  :)

We don't yet have enough information to make an informed guess about how long the castaway(s) survived.  My uninformed guess based on what we've found would be at least several weeks and perhaps a few months.  I don't know why Tom chose October 13, 1937 but it's not based on any kind of calculation. I suspect he chose that date for artistic purposes. The first British expedition to evaluate the island for future settlement arrived on October 11 and departed on October 13, 1937.  Having Amelia expire on the 13th let him describe his imagined circumstances of her death and introduce his characters in the same opening chapter.

[Chris Johnson]

Tom King's fictionalized version in "Thirteen Bones" has at least one person surviving until October 13, 1937 -- over three months.  I assume this was not just an arbitrary guess on his part but was an informed estimate based upon the available evidence.  :)

We don't yet have enough information to make an informed guess about how long the castaway(s) survived.  My uninformed guess based on what we've found would be at least several weeks and perhaps a few months.  I don't know why Tom chose October 13, 1937 but it's not based on any kind of calculation. I suspect he chose that date for artistic purposes. The first British expedition to evaluate the island for future settlement arrived on October 11 and departed on October 13, 1937.  Having Amelia expire on the 13th let him describe his imagined circumstances of her death and introduce his characters in the same opening chapter.

Artistic Licence but a crude quess based on a fire a day would give them a fair few days after they have moved to the seven site from the post loss radio landing site.  Not taking into account any other camp sites that they may have had before settling down at the seven site.

[Ric Gillespie]

The number of fires and especially the amount of food represented by the bones found in and around the fires should be an indication of how long someone was in residence. The tricky part is figuring out which fires and bones are attributable to the castaway(s).  Not every little chunk of charcoal is necessarily a campfire and we're beginning to see some evidence that at least some of the fires were made later.  The bird and fish bones are still out for analysis.  We should know more when we know what species and methods of preparation they represent.  If we're lucky we'll get a clearer picture that might enable us to say something like, "These fires over here are clearly castaway-related and these over here were not."
It's a complex site.