A 52-year-old woman survived a 7-day ordeal, after she became separated and trapped in blinding snow in California’s Sierra, without heat, rationing yogurt and eating snow until rescuers could locate her.
Snowstorm turns outing into survival ordeal
On Thursday, April 14, Justin Lonich, 48, and Sheena Gullett, 52, were driving to their hometown of Little Valley, California.
Little Valley is located in Lassen County, 43 miles northwest of Susanville, at an elevation of 4,190 feet. Its population in 2020 was 84 residents.
Justin and Sheena were driving in a remote area of Lassen National Forest on dirt roads off Highway 44, when their vehicle got stuck in the snow, NBC reported.
They were forced to spend the night in the car. The next morning, the vehicle’s battery was dead. The pair decided to walk out to find help. On the journey, the soles came off of Sheena’s boots and she turned around. Justin had continued walking ahead, and the two became separated, ABC reported. Heavy snowfall had set in, and when Justin tried to look back for Sheena, he couldn’t find her, officials said.
He then continued on the journey to seek help. For two days, he walked seeking a way out of the woods. He built campfires at night to keep warm. On the third day, he reached Highway 44 on Sunday, April 17. He managed to hitch a ride to Susanville. At the Lassen County Sheriff’s Office, Justin reported that Sheena was stranded in the forest.
Search launched, Sheena struggles to survive
At first, the search proved daunting. Justin was unfamiliar with the area and roads they had traveled on. This made it difficult for the Sheriff’s office to narrow down the search perimeter.
For the next five days, rescuers from the Sheriff’s Department and the U.S. Forest Service struggled daily to find Sheena to no avail, all while trying to do so in bad weather. On one of the days, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) conducted a helicopter search without success. Additional air searches could not be conducted due to “inclement weather.”
Meanwhile, Justin assumed Sheena might attempt to make it back to the vehicle. In fact, she had.
For six days Sheena was stranded in the vehicle with a dead battery and no heat source. Luckily, she had brought along a six pack of yogurt. She rationed it, eating one serving per day. However, she had no water. She would later tell rescuers she ate snow to keep hydrated.
On the day the CHP sent out a rescue helicopter, Sheena said she saw it flying overhead. But because she was in a heavily wooded area, they were unable to spot her.
A sergeant from the Sheriff’s office enlisted Justin’s help, and on the seventh day of the ordeal, Wednesday, April 20, the vehicle was located, CBS reported.
“Immediately upon his arrival, Sheena came out of the vehicle,” the sheriff’s office said. “She was very emotional, but physically okay.”
