Three young girls went missing in Stanton, Ky., this fall while attempting to summit a massive pile of dirty laundry on their bedroom floor. Sources say the girls had been ordered by their parents to clean up the clothes but refused — instead opting to scale the mound without safety harnesses. They were rescued and brought to safety hours later.
"It was a little dicey, but we were able to hang on until help arrived,” said Sophia Moon, 11, the oldest of the three sisters. She claims the girls were helped when they found a snorkel amid the cast-off clothing, enabling them to breathe despite the fumes of what local officials call “girl funk.” The snorkel was a regular piece of equipment for the girls, who all are competitive swimmers. Their mother, Mary, says the device had been lost weeks earlier.
Rescue officials originally scoffed at the idea that children actually could become trapped amid their own pile of laundry. However, the victims were the Moon sisters — Sophia, Anna, and Isabella — and had recently moved to a new home in Kentucky where they were forced by their parents to share a single bedroom.
The Moon sisters are well known for their sloppiness — much to their parents’ dismay. “Isabella sometimes goes missing for days,” said their father, Chris Moon, who led the family to Stanton, Ky., as pastor of a local church.
Isabella Moon, 8, emerged from the pile of clothes without her front two teeth. She claimed they just got loose and eventually fell out. Her father said he believes her pile of Barbie dolls gave way, injuring her in an avalanche. Considered the “girly girl” among the sisters, Isabella just smiled. "Thister Thusie Thittin’ on a Thistle!” she kept saying, over and over.
Anna Moon, 9, the middle sister, refused to give an account of the climbing incident. She just said she kept telling her sisters that the whole thing was a bad idea. “And it was,” she said resolutely.
The Moons new home is located right across the street from their new church. The girls said they got the idea for their so-called adventure from the hours they had spent hiking on the trails in the area. They often spend weekends hiking trails in the nearby Red River Gorge. Their brother, parents and dog accompany them.
“I would never do anything like that,” said Sam Moon, 6, shaking his head and winking mischievously while petting the family beagle (known as Max). “My sisters are crazy!"
Sam has become known in the family as a strong swimmer, taking after his sisters. Sam joined his sisters swimming this year for the local Swimchester Sailfish (in Winchester, Ky.) and has mastered the freestyle and backstroke. His butterfly and breaststroke “are still a little rough,” according to his mother Mary though he continues to learn more at each practice. Unfortunately, swimming was of little help in the dirty clothes rescue operation.
Sam did attempt to rescue his sisters by shooting at them with a Nerf gun. He was disappointed when that didn’t actually help much. Max the Beagle also briefly tried to assist. He ate a sock. The following day, he threw it up. No one seemed to be very surprised.
The girls were finally rescued when their father brought out one of the family’s kayaks. The girls slid down their dirty clothes pile in it. Since moving to Kentucky, their father has become rather obsessed with kayaking. “We have three of them now,” Mary said, shaking her head. “It’s been expensive … and fun.” She paused, and then added, “Did I say it was expensive?”
Chris Moon didn’t hear that comment as he was chasing Max, a sock dangling out of his mouth.
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Editor's Note:
We hope you enjoy the Moon Tribune! As you probably know, we have had a big year. Chris is now senior pastor at Stanton Christian Church in Stanton, Ky. This has been a big change for our family — the first time we have lived outside of Kansas! The transition has been a blessing. There are SO MANY wonderful people in our new church home. Chris likes preaching, and God has blessed our family with a really good situation here in Kentucky.
Of course, there have been some challenges, and we would like your prayers. Our new community is in one of the poorest regions in the nation. There are a lot of challenges here, but also a lot of opportunities to speak about the good news we have in Christ. Please pray that that happens.
Also, please pray for our children. For the most part, the transition has been a good one. But they still miss their friends and church in Kansas, and their transition to their new schools has been more difficult than we had hoped. The kids have been able to keep up their swimming year-round. And the girls all ran cross country on the school team this fall. They did quite well running long distance and each made the “All Conference” team representing the Pirates.
All the while, Mary is doing well, adjusting to a little slower pace of life here — without all the PTA, PDO, and children’s ministry duties. It won’t be much longer before she’s into a million different things, but for now she’s trying to survive all the loads of the laundry!
We want you to know that we miss all of you, and you are in our prayers. God bless!
Of course, there have been some challenges, and we would like your prayers. Our new community is in one of the poorest regions in the nation. There are a lot of challenges here, but also a lot of opportunities to speak about the good news we have in Christ. Please pray that that happens.
Also, please pray for our children. For the most part, the transition has been a good one. But they still miss their friends and church in Kansas, and their transition to their new schools has been more difficult than we had hoped. The kids have been able to keep up their swimming year-round. And the girls all ran cross country on the school team this fall. They did quite well running long distance and each made the “All Conference” team representing the Pirates.
All the while, Mary is doing well, adjusting to a little slower pace of life here — without all the PTA, PDO, and children’s ministry duties. It won’t be much longer before she’s into a million different things, but for now she’s trying to survive all the loads of the laundry!
We want you to know that we miss all of you, and you are in our prayers. God bless!
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