In 1851, at the age of 14 or 15, Lorenzo Oatman survived an Indian attack that left most of his family dead, but his two sisters were taken into captivity. Lorenzo was clubbed over the head and rendered unconscious, thrown 20 feet off the edge of a basalt cliff, and was left for dead by the Indians. Miraculously, he survived and made his way back to civilization. After his recovery, he worked tirelessly to find out what happened to his sisters, resulting in eventually reuniting with his sister Olive. His younger sister, Mary Ann, did not survive her captivity.