Posted on 12/25/2011 6:51:49 AM PST by SJackson
After 10 days trapped alone in her Toyota Corolla in freezing temperatures deep in a secluded mountain range, an Arizona woman is recovering at a Flagstaff Medical Center after being rescued from her ordeal.
Lauren Weinberg, an Arizona State University student, survived on two candy bars and melted snow for water after her car became stuck in snow outside a forest gate near a line of cliffs with no one around for miles. The 23-year-old sat in the car without a heavy coat or blanket for nearly a week and a half as another snow storm dumped more than two feet of snow around her.
"She did not have a lot in the way of provisions, she did not have a lot in the way of warm clothing," police told ABC News. "She had a cell phone with her. She told us that she couldn't use it because the battery was dead, and then I guess at some point because of the cold it became completely disabled."
Weinberg had last been seen leaving her mother's house in Phoenix on the night of Dec. 11. She drove four hours toward Arizona's Mogollon Rim when a gate blocked her from traveling any farther. It was when she attempted to turn her car around that she became stuck.
Lauren Weinberg, 23, survived for several days on two candy bars and melted snow after her vehicle got stuck in the snow in east-central Ariz. Student Survives 10 Days in Snow Watch Video
Park rangers found her on Wednesday about 45 miles southeast of Winslow, according to Coconino County sheriff's spokesman Gerry Blair.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
cellphones don’t always have coverage in the boondocks out west.
Thank you. Merry CHRISTmas!
If anything could go wrong, it....
I carry basic trunk tools (and my water bottle) all the time.
Just to be at ease in the winter, no matter where I go I carry a warm coat, scarf, earmuffs, gloves, and a small blanket and that’s just in town... in Texas. :>)))))
However when I was young this did not apply and sometimes I wonder how I survived.
What’s that saying...with age, sometimes we gain wisdom or something like that.
Hopefully, if she has any sense, she now understands the importance of keeping emergency supplies in her vehicle. Food, water, warm blankets, first aid kit, flashlight, etc.
I, for one apparently, am impressed !
When I lived in Colorado I traveled (Even short trips into town) with at least 3 days of supplies - No radio, but some wood, WX stuff and a shotgun with about 50 rounds. My girlfriend and roommate at the time had sports cars, so they weren’t going to help.
But as time went on, and I began to use some of this (My Toyota 4Runner NEVER got stuck, even in feet of the white stuff) and I started going through over-night drills, I became less and less packed down. At the end of my time in Colorado (When I put the NATIVE sticker on the truck) I only had the shotgun, 50 rounds, a survival knife, swiss army knife (With saw.. the only blade I ever used) a back-up folding saw, a tent and a very expensive, very effective parka. I was now foot-capable in the heavy weather.
Perhaps this girl has this same sort of background. She ditched the heavy stuff, stopped being so nervous about being stranded, and just went into the mountains. I think she did a great job.
I read one account where it said that the park service doesn’t always give timely notifications of park gate closings so she must have thought she could drive through that particular gate to get to where she was going.
But there is a difference in “just” Surviving - Surviving with meager supplies - and getting stuck and going “What the heck” and surviving comfortably until rescue.
Good on her for making the most of what she had making it through until rescue instead of trying to walk out and die of exposure someplace.
A few basic items in a mid size tupperware container go a long way in making a forced stay more “comfortable”.
I carry a couple of wool/poly blend surplus blankets in the trunk. Multi use items. Got stuck in some mud one time in the middle of nowhere. Used my folding E-Tool to dig out around the tires and laid the blankets down for a mat.
The wife was impressed on me getting out but pointed her finger down the road to the commercial washing machines.
Shw was wise to stay in her car.
What I said was her lack of common sense precautions wasn't a function of being a student, adults do the same thing all the time.
You probably didn't get in trouble. As I noted before, it's not age. My kids are always prepared for situations like this. But largely no one teaches it, to kids or adults.
I've seen gates up and roads open in Northern Az in conditions that would be difficult to impossible without a 4wd. And if you're between gates when they close. You need to be prepared.
Her cell phone battery was dead! Everyone should have a car charger for their cell phone! EVERYONE!
How old was this poor child? 23? Looks like being an adult student has decidedly lowered her intelligence....being generous and assuming it’s presence before.
I’d guess very few people have anything more than a cellphone for emergencies,besides a sense that “if anything bad happens someone will come”.
Some adult students work to pay for their college education, while others join the military out of HS and go to college afterward.
Good thing that she wasn’t stranded in my area to the north. Foot-and-a-half of snow followed by a low of -31 F a few nights ago.
Quite true. And I’m sure they appreciate what they work so hard for as most of us do.
You were going to take them live? oh...now that makes a difference.
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