Facebook/San Miguel County Sheriff(DENVER) — A Texas family was found alive — with no serious injuries — after going missing for 24 hours in the San Juan National Forest in Colorado, officials said.
A man, woman and their 12-year-old daughter were driving a rented truck from El Paso, Texas, to Norwood, Colorado, to deliver furniture when the truck got stuck in the snow Monday morning, said San Miguel County Sheriff’s officials.
A concerned relative called the authorities Monday night, launching a multi-county search, officials said.
Just before 9 a.m. Tuesday, San Miguel County Undersheriff Eric Berg spotted the truck from the air, authorities said.
A few minutes later the family was seen a couple of miles away from the truck, walking on a forest service road, authorities said.
The husband told the responders that the family had been relying on electronic GPS for the fastest route when the truck got stuck, authorities said.
When they couldn’t dig the truck out, they ran the engine overnight for heat, officials said.
Then early on the morning of Christmas Eve, the family wrapped their shoes with shipping plastic and started to walk to safety through the deep snow, officials said.
No one was seriously hurt, authorities said.
“The family is lucky to have had moderate temperatures and our ability to use aircraft to locate them,” San Miguel County Sheriff Bill Masters said in a statement Tuesday. “But people need to remember that electronic GPS systems are not always the best guide. At this time of year especially, roads like these are not always passable.”
Masters also urged people to keep extra food, water and warm clothing in their cars for emergencies.
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