FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – A college student was released from the hospital Thursday after surviving what she said was a nine-day ordeal of being stuck in her car in the snow with no heavy coat, blankets or gloves and only two candy bars for food.
Authorities are still not clear about why 23-year-old Lauren Weinberg drove to the desolate mountain area of Arizona during finals week at Arizona State University.
She was rescued Wednesday, less than a mile from a ranch and in an area that had cellphone service. She told authorities her phone wasn’t working, and her car could not be seen from the ranch, where workers plowed through 10 inches of snow to get her out.
Authorities and the U.S. Forest Service workers who found Weinberg said they had no reason to doubt her story of survival amid 2 feet of snow and temperatures that plunged to near zero.
One of the rescuers said he could see floor mats draped over Weinberg’s legs while she sat in her car, which still had gas.
“You can say survival skills or a miracle, either way,” Phoenix police officer James Holmes, whose agency was investigating her disappearance. “But the good thing is she’s home and safe.”
It was one of two snow rescues in the Southwest on Wednesday. A Texas family found themselves struggling to breathe after nearly two days in their SUV after it was buried under 4 feet of snow and ice on a rural New Mexico highway.
One member of the Texas family, Yvonne Higgins, remained hospitalized with pneumonia Thursday. Her husband, David Higgins, and his father were on their way to pick up the family’s vehicle after it was pulled by rescuers from the snowdrift near Springer, N.M.
Rescuers had to dig through snow and ice to free the Higgins family, who left their home near League City, Texas, on Sunday for a ski trip in northern New Mexico. The couple and their 5-year-old daughter, Hannah, were clinging to each other and were lethargic early Wednesday.
David Higgins was able to keep the car running for a couple of hours, but when he wanted to clear the exhaust pipe, his door was blocked. He tried to shove his arm through the top of the window, but it went about 16 inches and still was covered in snow.
The family had plenty of water, sandwiches, chips and snack mix. But as the hours passed, it seemed as if they were working harder to breathe inside the buried SUV.
“We weren’t sure of it, but we think we were running out of air. That was spooky,” the 48-year-old father said.
He eventually reached his brother in Texas by cellphone and the distress call was relayed to state police, who launched a search Tuesday evening.
