At the start of this fact-based story, a group of young people are racing on a curvy highway, with loud music playing. Someone sees cops, and the whole group scatters. 19-year-old Joe is not supposed to be driving (though that didn't stop him from racing).Joe finds out he is getting his driver's license back. This is an opportunity to go to a party at his friend Evan's house. He will have to drive all night, but he promises to keep in touch and to return home by Monday. One problem: his girlfriend Patti, who he works with at a grocery store, wants him to spend the night while her parents are away. And not only does he gets a late start, Joe does leave his cell phone at Patti's house.Our first clue something is wrong: Joe nearly hits a boy standing in the road. He gives the boy a ride, and then we don't hear anything from him for a while.Joe's parents Teresa and Tim get a call in the middle of the night. Evan sounds high, but he knows Joe never showed up.Teresa goes to the cops but they don't think it's time to declare Joe missing. After all, he said he'd be back Monday. Teresa then takes the day off work to go search for Joe; she does know he has an online friend Lucinda in a distant town called Chasm. Tim has been out of work, so when he gets a job interview, that has to take priority (he's not that worried yet). Joe's teenage sister Becca is pleased to get a day off from school, and she goes with her mother and provides comic relief. Joe's brother Will stays home in case there is any news.Lucinda doesn't seem to know anything, but we get to see ominous flashbacks suggesting she knows more than she is telling. Teresa and the family put up flyers and get the press involved. The police reluctantly start searching. We find out information about Joe very gradually (mostly through more ominous flashbacks), and so do those searching. If Joe is really lying beside the road, one person says he has eight days to live. So just in case, someone had better get to work.At first, I wouldn't have said there was anything particularly distinctive about this movie. But as the search really gets under way, probably halfway through the movie, there is much more suspense and excitement.Michael Eklund, who reminds me of a character Brad Pitt once played (at least I think that's right), gives the standout acting performance, though that's not really saying much. Weaver is a drug dealer and Lucinda's boyfriend; he seems pretty messed up. The actors playing a couple of the cops are also quite good, at least for this movie. And while Kelly Rowan seems merely ordinary most of the time, I have to admit she had a couple of heartbreaking scenes. She must have called on a real tragedy or personal loss in her life.There is one moment that isn't a sign of quality, but rather a familiar cliché. Anyone who hates the behavior of the press in these situations should be happy. One vulture, not worthy of being called a journalist, asks Will a completely inappropriate question. The man should get out of the news business and go into reality TV. Will's reaction is enjoyable.This was satisfying, eventually.

I assume that everyone has seen this as it was shown on May 28th. I didn't plan on watching this made for TV Movie but am glad I did. It was great, truly it felt like we were watching the lives of normal people. What would you do if this happened to you? How could you live those 8 days? As a mom, I was glued to the TV. I couldn't miss a beat of this. When it came to the end and he was found I truly thought he was dead. But it was all so real to me and I was crying along with the mom. What a great story and to think this was true! The scenery of our West Coast was truly remarkable. I've seen some made for TV movies which show the coast, but this one was done very well. You truly felt the pain of the family seeing all the curves on those roads. A good movie for a Sunday Night. Keep up the good work, we need more of these and forget about the reality programs.

This movie doesn't claim to be a true story; rather it claims it is "based on a true story". Given the number of details that have been changed, I would say "LOOSELY based on a true story" would be more accurate. I live in the Vancouver area, which is near Aldergrove where the Spring family lives. I also grew up in Quesnel, which was Joe Spring's initial destination, and roughly halfway to his final destination of Prince Rupert (which wasn't mentioned). As such, I took a special interest in the events as they unfolded at the time.The whole subplot involving the drug dealers was completely fabricated. So were all other encounters on the trip. They had him found on his return trip over 400km (250miles) from where he was actually found, when he actually went missing on the initial leg of his journey. The movie also implied that he was facing winter-conditions out in the wilderness. In fact, the events happened in late May, and while Canada is known for its winters, there would have been no snow on the ground, and the temperatures would not have gone below freezing. Seasonable daytime highs of 21C(70F) would be expected. Finally, while the true family dynamic can only be known by the Spring family, I suspect that the dysfunction was largely exaggerated by the writers.In reality, he left his home at 11pm after a late shift at work. The area he was found was roughly 500km(312miles) away, which would have put him there at around 4am depending on how fast he was driving. Having driven that stretch of highway hundreds of times, I know how dangerous it can be, with all its twists and turns and steep banks, if you are not alert, especially when it's dark. Most sections on this highway have been fitted with "wake-up" strips along the shoulders and median to help prevent this type of accident, but I don't believe they were in place at the time Joe Spring went missing.There were some points in the movie that did ring true, however. He did survive 8 days trapped in his car without food and water after veering off the road into the trees. The initial search and rescue operations were centered on areas far from where he was found. And, he was found by helicopter after the search and rescue operation was called off.The most remarkable fact to me, which would seem to have been ideal "movie material" that was left out was that when the police officers found him, they had to chase off some curious bears who were in the area.In short, the true story of Joe's will to survive and how his family never gave up hope was remarkable in itself. I do not believe the altered facts were necessary and (to me at least), made the movie less enjoyable.The following links contain news articles surrounding these events:http://www.langleyadvance.com/issues01/06101/top1.htmhttp://www.langleyadvance.com/issues01/06201/news/06201N4.html

This movie is said to be based on a true story. It started out pretty good and unraveled at a nice pace. After the first half of the movie, though, the characters that you are introduced to and all the previous plot twists become completely insignificant. In fact, the first half of the movie is completely different than the second half. Consequently, the movie turns into a story of of a broken family coming together, completely with the cheesiest attempts to jerk tears from the audience, some are even dull rip-off's from other films. For the most part, all the characters are well acted, which is the strongest thing that it really has going for it. I would have excluded the weird 35-year-old-looking daughter that is supposed to be a fragile little girl. Her appearances are very annoying and she doesn't help at all. Overall, I think this film kind of shows that families should leave everything up to the police in times of crisis. My biggest problem with the movie is how they find the missing kid (the point of the movie). The way that they do makes the previous 95% completely useless (*spoiler* the kid fell asleep at the wheel and ran off the road. A random truck driver had spotted him and came in to tell the cops *spoiler*). So, I suggest you watch the first half then catch the last 10 minutes if you are interested. 95% of this movie has no purpose.