Transcripts For WPVI Nightline 20170401

Extinction. With Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman at the helm its no wonder Big Little Lies is the number one show on tv. How intense did those physical scenes get . The inside scoop from the stars. First the nightline 5. Allergy muddlers, are you one sneeze away from being voted out of the carpool . Try zyrtec. Zyrtec starts working hard at hour one and works device as hard when you take it again the next day. Stick with zyrtec. Muddle no more. Try allergy spray for powerful nasal allergy relief. Number one in just 60 seconds. Good evening and thank you for joining us. Im rebecca jarvis. It was a road trip gone horribly wrong. A young woman lost in the arizona desert for five days filming her struggle to survive on her cell phone right up until the moment she thought she would never see her loved ones again. Tonight her account through dramatic footage and what she did right that saved her life. Heres abcs matt gutman. I love my family. Mom, dad, kalie. Reporter recording a goodbye video to loved ones. Something no one expects theyll ever have to do. I just want to go home. I dont even want to do this trip anymore, im so scared. Reporter especially not 24yearold amber van heck who just days before began a road trip that should have been the time of her life. But a series of mishaps instead brought her to the brink of death. Three weeks ago the outdoorsy Texas College student set out on a 3,000mile road trip to the grand canyon all alone. Pretty courageous of you. I dont know if id call it courageous. Its more of a stubborn, probably. Reporter she had a couple of particular spots in mind. The havasu falls trailhead, a remote spot in the grand canyon, it has aqua blue plunge pools so popular it requires a reservation. Thats the trailhead . Yep. Its in the middle of nothing. Yes. Lets go. Reporter this week we returned with amber to this fateful spot. The place where, directed by her smartphone, amber turned off highway 64 and onto this dirt road. I trusted google maps which i shouldnt have. So were barely a mile off the road. Were driving in empty space. Check that out. Nothing. Reporter as night falls on march 12th, amber says she drives another hour and a half deeper into the middle of nowhere. When i came to the fence and i was like, oh. There wasnt a road here. Thats when i was like, this is not good. Thats when i tried going into the gps app and telling it to take me back. It was like, sorry, you have no internet service. Reporter for a brief moment shes able to get cell service and immediately calls 911. I was in such a panicked state. When they said, what is the nature of your emergency . I let out a sob and i said, please help me. And i heard it drop. And i just reporter with no cell service for her google navigation app, amber is about to lose a second precious resource. I was trying to watch my gas. Is that orange light blinking . It had been blinking. Reporter earlier that day she had stopped to gas up her ford edge and pumps only about onethird of a tank, hoping to save some money. How often do you think, if i just put 5, or just half a tank instead . Every day. I could have spared myself a lot of grief. Reporter 119 hours of grief to be exact, which amber would battle the triumvirate of no fuel, no cell service, no navigation. In the darkness, she parks alongside the first manmade structure she sees, hoping a sign of life will appear in the morning. She begins documenting her ordeal. Hopefully it doesnt take too long to be found. Reporter shes actually stranded on one of the largest cattle ranches in arizona, run by gary wilson. It has happened to several other people trying to get across this ranch. Google earth tells you that you can. But this ranch is actually closed. Reporter google did not respond to our requests for comment. A gps industry source previously told abc news it is important for drivers to keep in mind the gps devices are to be used as navigational aids only. It is the responsibility of drivers to exercise common sense. A cowboy usually patrols the area where amber is parked, but again, amber was out of luck. He was gone for about five days. And that just happened to be the time that she was out here. Reporter back home, ambers dad, steven, tries calling her phone and pinging her on her gps app. There is no response. I snapped at my boss that day. Because i was worried about her. Reporter but there are some encouraging signs. The occasional plane or helicopter overhead. The helicopter just flew by. I got out of my car and waved as frantically as i could. I guess up there its hard to notice small things on the ground. Reporter amber does have some advantages in the wild. The former girl scout and injuring rotc is now putting to use all the survivor skills shes learned. Using large rocks, she spells out the word help to be heen by aircraft above. She also makes a fire. I cant get anything here to burn black, it all burns gray or not at all. Reporter and luckily for her, shes brought plenty of food and water that she begins rationing meticulously. Three bottles a day should last me for at least a week and a half. Reporter its now wednesday, march 15th. Amber plans to stay put until help arrives. Im out here for 63 hours now. Reporter back in texas, dad begins an active hunt for his daughter. Id posted in the private facebook. I said, look, my daughters missing. I need some people to try to find her. This is the last place i saw her. Reporter the problem, stephen references ambers last known location. In new mexico, where her app pinged him back on saturday. The next day, suddenly amber sees a vehicle approaching and she sprints into action. Barefoot. I immediately jumped out of my car, tried to run after them, not thinking about my feet, not thinking about anything else. If this is where i get out, it doesnt matter. They didnt see me in their rear view. Im okay. Reporter as day four in the hot desert sun comes to a close, amber hits a low point. Almost exactly 100 hours out here now. All i can keep thinking is how much i want my daddy. And my mom. I dont want to be alone anymore. At what point did you decide that you had to rescue yourself . By about the fourth day. I figured there should have been at least a search out. But i hadnt seen anything, heard anything. Reporter the next morning, amber takes a gigantic risk embarking on what she says would be an 11mile desperate hike for a cell signal. Its amazing, you can see flagstaff mountains so clearly from here. Thats exactly why i chose to walk that way, because flagstaff has cell towers on it. Reporter after dialing 911 over 70 times, at last a connection. I started crying. Payi saying, please help me. Reporter she tells the operator shes somewhere between havasu park and the highway that goes to the southern rim visitors center. Shes like, in the grand canyon . No, maam, im in the desert, ive been here five days. I dont know what she was going to say because it was gone. Reporter just like that the call dropped. I was heartbroken in that moment. Reporter she doesnt know it we had a virtually unreadable 911 call, up known location, a woman whos panicking reporter she provided just uhuh to point arizonas department of Public Safety in the right direction. Pilot joe than nivez and paramedic edgar vicenet retrace the route. They spot a glare, the top of ambers vehicle. Then ambers sign for the sky. I look down, we see must have been 20, 30foot letters, help written in rocks on the ground next to the car. This has exot got to be it. Reporter ambers not there but the rescue team doesnt give up hope because amber wisely had left this message. It said, im not here, i walked east along the road to find cell phone signal, if youre reading this sign, please help me. Lets go. We loaded up. And continued down the road from there. Then i heard a chopper again. And thats when i saw the speck getting bigger. I look, i see someone jumping up and down in the road waving at us. I was like theyre coming for me. Reporter after five arduous days, Amber Van Hecke is stranded no more. Next thing you know im two feet from her. First thing that comes out of my mouth was, did you call . All i could answer was high, then ugly sobbing and holding on to him. Reporter the crew flies her straight to the hospital in flagstaff. I had said, you know what, you do everything right besides running out of gas. If i had to get lost, i wouldnt mind getting stranded with you, you know what youre doing. Reporter after getting treated for exposure and dehydration, an emotional phone call to her dad. I said, i was worried sick. She said, i thought you were hunting for me. I said, i was in the wrong place. Reporter two weeks since her rescue, while still healing physically and emotionally, amber says she has no regrets. I did do right things even if i did make mistakes. If i can just share those things that i did right with everyone, if that saves even one life, its worth it. Reporter for nightline, im matt gutman in flagstaff, arizona. Next, were on the lookout for lemurs in the rain forest of madagascar. Per roll more doing chores for dad per roll more earning something you love per roll bounty is more absorbent, so the roll can last 50 longer than the leading ordinary brand. So you get more life per roll. Bounty, the quicker picker upper hey, ready foyeah. Big meeting . Uh, hello . A meeting . Its a big one. Too bad. We are double booked diarrhea and abdominal pain. Why dont you start without me . Oh. Yeah. If youre living with frequent, unpredictable diarrhea and abdominal pain, you may have Irritable Bowel Syndrome with diarrhea, or ibsd. A condition that can be really frustrating. Talk to your doctor about viberzi, a different way to treat ibsd. Viberzi is a Prescription Medication you take every day that helps proactively manage both diarrhea and abdominal pain at the same time. So you stay ahead of your symptoms. Viberzi can cause new or worsening abdominal pain. Do not take viberzi if you have or may have had pancreas or severe liver problems, problems with alcohol abuse, longlasting or severe constipation, or a blockage of your bowel or gallbladder. If you are taking viberzi, you should not take medicines that cause constipation. The most common side effects of viberzi include constipation, nausea, and abdominal pain. Stay ahead of ibsd. With viberzi. We cant stay here why . Terrible toilet paper ill never get clean way ahead of you. Charmin ultra strong. It cleans better. Its four times stronger. And you can use less. Enjoy the go with charmin. Fios is not cable. Were wired differently. Maybe thats why weve been ranked highest in Customer Satisfaction by jd power 4 years in a row. And now you can love fios too. Get 150 meg internet, tv and phone. All for 79. 99 per month, for the first year with a twoyear agreement. Its the only internet with equal upload and download speeds. Cable only offers upload speeds that are a fraction of the download speeds. Plus get hbo for a year and free multiroom dvr service for two years. And Verizon Wireless customers can stream tv on the fios mobile app, datafree. Get the best. Go to getfios. Com tonight we journey into the madagascar rain forest, coming facetoface with lemurs, some of the most endangered primates on earth. Were guided by a woman who has dedicated her life to preventing the extinction of these exotic and beautiful creatures. Against all odds shes actually having an impact. Heres abcs alex marquardt. Reporter this is one of the richest rain forests on earth. In the heart of the island of madagascar. Home to an extraordinary range of animals including tiny frogs this is full size . Yeah. Reporter the biggest chameleon on the planet and its most famous residents, the lemurs. We spent days in this muggy forest trekking for miles to catch a glimpse of this unique and endangered creature. I found one. Reporter furry blurs flying from branch to branch, hanging upside down, munching on leaves, taking a snooze in the embrace of a tree. Madagascar is the only place on earth where lemurs can be found in the wild. Theyre also some of the lesserknown primates but thats quickly changing thanks to blockbuster movies like madagascar. Welcome, giant pansies reporter and a recent starring role in the stunning new bbc series planet earth 2. Obviously theyre adorable. What do you think the mass appeal of the lemur is . It has sort of that appeal of a panda bear, but its not so big. Its fluffy like a cat. They have a kind of zen attitude about life. And theyre very relaxed. Reporter dr. Patricia wright is an americmeramerican primato sunny brook and has dedicated her life to studying lemurs. Against all odds she managed to convince the government of this island, where 90 of the land has been deforested, that its worth protecting the rain forest and the animals in it. One of the poorest countries, you a foreigner marching into these offices saying, stop chopping down the trees, which is the main source of income, in order to save this animal. They must have thought you were crazy. Indeed. I tried to explain this animal is so special that people would come from all over the world to see it. Reporter in our first morning with her and the team of guides, an unexperience unlike any theyve ever had. Trekking through the 160 square mile park, scanning the treetops, looking for movement. We come across a cluster of three chifaka lemurs nestled in a tree. This is amazing, there are three of them together, a meter from us. Reporter we interrupted their postlunch grooming session. Too close for comfort, apparently, as two scampered away. The third setting in for a nap. So regal, crossing his arms and legs like that, completely relaxed. In 30 years, dr. Wright and the guides say this is the closest theyve gotten to these lemur in the wild. This is very, very rare. This is one of the hardest lemurs to find here. Reporter 15 of the more than 100 species of lemurs live here in this forest. Many of them critically endangered, including the black and white ruffed lemur which hasnt been seen in months by the guides but has just been spotted, launching an hourslong pursuit. Lots of very steep up and down. Were heading to where the trees are that these black and white ruff lemurs like to feed to and listening for their distinctive call. Reporter then [ lemurs calling ] there they were, leaping, hanging by tiny, powerful feet, scarfing down lunch. There are fewer than 1,000 of these lemurs in the wild. Because of that aggressive call, it makes it very easy for hunters to find them. One of the main reasons dr. Wright chose to study lemurs is their social system. In roving families the females are in charge. They decide where the whole group goes, which fruit trees theyre going to go in, and they go first and eat the best. Reporter these omnivores eat most anything including bamboo stalks, which are full of cyanide, easy enough to kill a person but no effect on the lemur. Dr. Wrights team is studying how theyre able to digest such a powerful toxin. These Golden Bamboo lemurs like to hang out at the top of the canopy. Theyre easy to spot because you have the bits they dont want falling to the floor. Reporter at night were cheating a bit and rubbing bananas on trees, thats like crack to mouse lemurs. Reporter the smallest primate in the world. How can you see anything . Its pitch black. See there . Oh, yeah, there it is. Sure enough, going straight for the banana. Reporter mouse lemurs are known to get the same diseases we do, alzheimers, diabetes, and obesity, making them crucial to study. On this night the researchers are setting twr inting traps fo lemur. The team has been monitoring the health and size of the forests population. After a few hours they catch one. This is a dwarf lemur. Reporter measuring, tagging, naming it. You named it alex . Yes. Im honored. Hey, alex, how you doing, buddy . Look at you. Look at those eyes. Reporter even after three decades in this forest, dr. Wright shows all the enthusiasm of a tourist visiting for first time. The rain forest is an amazing place. Even though ive been here 30 years, i still dont know exactly whats going to happen when i go out there. Reporter in protecting this area shes been able to bring back a number of lemur species from the brink of extinction. Teaching a new generation of locals to treasure what they have and preserving the only place on earth to study these animals in their natural habitat. For nightline im alex marquardt, madagascar. Next, the big truth about Big Little Lies. Did those Domestic Violence scenes sometimes get too brutal for Nicole Kidman . [car engine failing to start] [clicking of ignition] uh wha woof eeh woof wuh [silence] [engine roars to life] [dog howls] dramatic opera music swells from radio [howling continues] before we hit the beach, iwe cant stay here o. Why . Terrible toilet paper ill never get clean way ahead of you, big daddy. Aww charmin ultra strong. Its washclothlike texture helps clean better. Its four times stronger. And you can use less. Beautiful view. wiggles butt thanks to charmin. And you, honeybear awwwww we all go. Why not enjoy the go with charmin . At red lobsters lobsterfestime. Any of these 9 lobster dishes could be yours. So dont resist delicious new lobster mix and match or lobsterfest surf and turf because you wont have this chance for long. Finally tonight, a peek inside one of the Biggest Little shows on television. Its one of the hottest shows of 2017. Big little lies, the latest miniseries from hbo coming to a close this weekend. Inspired by the novel by liane moriarty, a starstudded cast headlined by Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman. Set in monterey, california, the show wrestles with the difficult topic of Domestic Violence. The abusive relationship between celeste and perry wright, played by kidman and alexander skarsgard, often coming to the forefront of the shows plot. Skarsgard commented on the fragile climate on set when shooting those scenes in an article with vanity fair. It was very important to reconnect after shooting those scenes. We made a point of checking in with each other, giving each other a hug. While the two actors have a strong relationship, kidman speaking to vulture highlighted how those brutally uncomfortable scenes affected her personally. After we shot some really, really violent scenes, i was in a lot of pain myself. It was very uncomfortable. It wasnt a good feeling, i have to say. Kidman and skarsgard will reprize their roles as celeste and perry one last time this sunday. Cant wait to see how it all turns out. Thank you for watching abc news. As always we are online at abcnews. Com and our hey, everybody. Its whiz kids week. Today, were playing our game with some very bright kids who have spent their young lives working hard in school. And now, theyre hoping all that hard work pays off literally, because theyre here to play who wants to be a millionaire. [cheers and applause] [dramatic music] hey, everybody. Its whiz kids week on who wants to be a millionaire. [cheers and applause] todays whiz kid is so good at retaining information, by the time she was two years old, she could recognize tchaikovsky on the radio. From louisville, kentucky, please welcome 14yearold alexandra polur gold. [cheers and applause] alexandra, nice to meet you. Thank you, you too. [cheers and applause] now, do you actually enjoy tchaikovsky . I have not listened to tchaikovsky since i did ballet when i was in fourth grade, so that didnt work out so well. What do youwhat kind of music do you love . Well, hamilton, obviously. So youre into broadway stuff . Oh, yes, oh, yes. Okay. My favorite play my favorite musical is cabaret, actually. Are you into musical theater . Are you in it yourself . A little. I have two friends at home. Theyre twins. Theyre much more obsessed than i could ever be. So, what has prepared you to be here on millionaire today . Oh, my gosh. Um, im really competitive. I was in a quiz bowl thing. Um, my team actually was first in our