Ming did provide the location of another, far richer deposit of gold ore. It was close by, but runoff from the site didn't drain into the tribe's river. A few hours later, Jake contacted the site manager who provided him with the owner's contact information. The owner happened to live in Prince George, British Columbia.
The following day, they reached the nearest town, Bella Coola, the same town that Ats had been leading them to. Ming paid for a hotel using a credit card he had somehow squirrelled away in his clothing. That same evening they were able to buy Jake some new clothes at a thrift store. Before they got to the mining site, he had removed the tribal clothing he had been wearing so as not to give away how they had survived all this time. His best suit had not held up well and he was thrilled to get out of it. The new clothes weren’t great but it was comforting to be back in “normal” clothing. He hadn't noticed before but in trying on the new clothes he discovered that he had lost quite a bit of weight. When he stared at himself in the hotel mirror it looked like he had gained quite a bit of muscle and he was proud of himself.
Jake was finally able to contact his parents who were long since convinced he was dead. They were greatly relieved to hear that he was alright but stranded in Canada. They were as perplexed as Jake was about what lead to the plane crash, but they weren’t desperate for money. $50,000 had mysteriously been deposited in their bank account just after Jake had left.
Ming was able to hire a pilot and they flew to Prince George. They stayed in a hotel there and arranged by phone to meet the owner in a local coffee shop. The plan went over well with the owner. He agreed that if the other location had richer gold deposits he would discontinue mining.
They spent a few weeks in Prince George working out the details and Jake got to see the mining operation move. The tribe was saved.
