Rescue crew happens upon stranded woman


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WASHINGTON COUNTY — A woman from Washington state was extremely lucky that a group of Southern Utah rescuers was out practicing their skills this weekend. Otherwise, she might still be sitting in her SUV, trying to conserve gas and quickly running out of food.

"We just kept going up the road, and it kept getting to be deeper snow, about 18 inches," said Jason Curtis of the Washington County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue team. "We came around the corner and there was this vehicle — stuck. The lady jumped out and was just overwhelmed with emotion and came running to us."

Curtis said the woman, who is a fourth-grade teacher, was physically OK. She was trying to make her way home from Arizona to Washington when she says she was led astray.

"These GPSs, they're very great tools, but they can get you in trouble. That GPS just told her that's a road, it'll take you up to Cedar City," Curtis said.

Instead, the road took her to Kolob Reservoir, an area that's impassable this time of year and usually rarely visited.


We came around the corner and there was this vehicle — stuck. The lady jumped out and was just overwhelmed with emotion and came running to us.

–Jason Curtis


"I don't know what could have happened if we wouldn't have come across her," Curtis said.

The woman melted snow for water and had one apple. When crews found her, she had half a tank of gas. Curtis said she'd been wise, only running her car for 10 minutes at a time to conserve fuel.

He's glad she did many things right.

"Stay in your vehicles. If you get stuck, especially if you've told somebody where you're going, stay in your vehicle because search and rescue units will come out, and they will find you," Curtis said. "Don't go out walking and turn the situation into a worse scenario."

Curtis said it's also important to make sure people know what routes they're taking so if they get lost rescuers will know where to look.

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