100 Foot Fall, Broken Back, No Help: Surviving the Arizona Desert | E220

The CRUX: True Survival Stories

Bleav + Kaycee McIntosh + Julie Henningsen

Society & Culture, Halloween, Wilderness, True Crime, Nature, National, Crime, Documentary

4.0 • 606 Ratings

🗓️ 9 March 2026

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On May 20, 2016, 25-year-old ICU nurse Amber Kohnhorst set out on a solo sunset hike near Cane Beds, Arizona — and never came back. What followed was nearly 28 hours of survival in one of the most remote and unforgiving landscapes in the American Southwest, with injuries that should have been fatal and no way to call for help. This episode breaks down exactly how she survived, and what every hiker needs to know before heading out alone.

Transcript

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0:00.0	You know what's worse than being stranded on a mountain with no food?
0:03.9	Uh, listening to ads when you're trying to escape reality. Exactly. That's why we've got
0:09.8	you covered on Patreon. For just a few bucks, ditch the ads completely. And for a few bucks more,
0:16.1	get ad-free listening plus early access to our disaster strikes episodes because when disaster hits in the
0:23.2	middle of nowhere you'll want the story first head to patreon.com and search crux true survival stories
0:31.0	your future survival depends on it okay maybe literally, but your listening experience definitely will.
0:46.1	Hello, survivalists. This is the Crux True Survival Story podcast. I'm Casey McIntosh.
0:52.5	And I'm Julie Henningson. And we are medical professionals with a
0:55.8	passion for wilderness survival. Join us as we explore real life survival stories and the critical
1:01.2	moments that determine their outcomes. Buckle up. Adventure awaits. Let's dive into this week's story.
1:07.5	Imagine being trapped at the bottom of a canyon.
1:13.9	It's 10 feet by 10 feet, a stone prison.
1:16.9	Your back is broken in three places.
1:18.9	Your pelvis is shattered.
1:21.5	There's a pool of blood around your head.
1:22.6	No water.
1:23.8	No food.
1:25.4	No cell service. And you're writing goodbye letters to your family on your phone
1:29.0	because you're certain you're about to die.
1:32.5	This is Amber Conehorst's story.
1:35.5	Welcome back to the Crux.
1:37.1	I'm Julie Henningson.
	...

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