[Paul R.]

Well, I guess I may have to take it back. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction! Apparently the guy did land on “FF”, just off Highway 60, and went to a Simmons’ gas station. And, yes, around here, a couple “good ‘ol boys” riding around together, probably wouldn’t think twice about giving a guy in a plane that just came down on a local road, a ride to a gas station. The thing that didn’t seem correct to me was that Simmons is on the other side of Van Buren and not that near Ellsinor (80 miles driving distance, according to Mapquest. I think Van Buren is larger, too.) At any rate, the local news station has good coverage on all this, up now:

http://www.kfvs12.com/Global/story.asp?S=10140333

[HollyB]

Thanks for the update Paul. I live in the general area that it is a waste of time for someone to hitchhike. Because no one in their right mind would pull over. But, I guess it's nice to know that there are areas still out there that people can be neighborly.

[Paul R.]

AH! [u]Now[/u] it is clearer! The pilot didn't get a ride to Simmons, MO (which has a highway "FF" nearby.) He got a ride to "Simmons Grocery and Hardware", which is in Ellsinore, MO. Per CNN:

"He just came in, got a Gatorade, tried to get a beef jerky, didn't have enough money, went over and sat down and just kind of watched people come and go," said Tammy Bailey of Simmons Grocery & Hardware in Ellsinore in southern Missouri.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/04/07/stolen.plane.pilot/index.html?iref=mpstoryview