"Christmas miracle" after missing Pa. family found in snowy Arizona forest
JACOB LAKE, Ariz. -- An Arizona sheriff’s official says it’s “a Christmas miracle” that searchers found a Pennsylvania woman and her family stranded in a snowy Arizona forest after their vehicle got stuck before a severe winter storm hit the area.
Coconino County Deputy Jim Driscoll says 46-year-old Karen Klein of Easton, Pennsylvania was found exhausted at a closed Grand Canyon National Park early Saturday morning after she hiked 27 miles.
Other searchers located her husband, Eric, and their 10-year-old son, Isaac, late Friday miles away at their rental vehicle.
They rented a car in Las Vegas and drove to visit southern Utah. They were following their GPS system in an attempt to visit the Grand Canyon, CBS affiliate KPHO reported.
It got stuck Thursday when the family relied on an online mapping service to find an alternative route to the North Rim, where park services and the access highway are closed for the winter.
Driscoll says Karen Klein tried to hike out of the forest by herself to get help because she’s a triathlete and marathon runner and the family agreed she was in the best shape to make the attempt.
She had some food and water and was dressed in several layers of clothing, KPHO reported.
She’s hospitalized and being treated for exposure to cold.