A man who became stranded in the Sierra Nevada during a major snowstorm after his GPS led him astray was found alive a week later, officials said Monday.
The Sierra County Sheriff’s Office was notified of the missing traveler on Saturday, six days after he had been heard from last, according to a post on the agency’s Facebook page. The man had set out from Grass Valley to Truckee along Highway 49.
Family members had assembled search parties to check the stretch of highway in Sierra, Yuba and Nevada counties but were unable to find the man, identified as Harlan Earl by KTLA sister station KTXL in Sacramento.
Earl’s disappearance came during a major winter storm that battered the California mountain range.
The massive storm “blanketed much of our high country in 6 to 8 feet of snow,” Sgt. Ray Kress of the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office told KTXL.
Multiple sheriff’s departments became involved in the search, along with the California Highway Patrol and Caltrans.
Exactly one week after his disappearance, Earl was able to get cell reception and dialed 911 for help. The call was dropped, but the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office was able to confirm it came from the missing person’s phone and obtained the GPS location.
The call originated from Henness Pass Road near Alleghany, according to the Sierra County Sheriff’s Office.
“This area received heavy snowfall over the past week and is not accessible by vehicle,” the Facebook post read.
A CHP helicopter was dispatched to the area, where the crew located the man and landed nearby.
Harlan was then transported to a local hospital and found to be in good condition, according to KTXL. He declined medical treatment.
Harlan told authorities that he had visited friends in Grass Valley and had decided to return to Truckee. But because of the snow, Interstate 80 was closed and he decided to take Highway 49 back instead.
But as he was traveling along the 49, his GPS directed him off the highway and onto Henness Pass Road — a shorter route, but an area Harlan was unfamiliar with, sheriff’s officials said. It’s a mountainous region of Sierra County that is inundated with heavy snow during the winter.
Henness Pass Road isn’t plowed and is is open only during the summer, the Sheriff’s Office added.
At some point while driving up the road, Harlan became trapped and couldn’t turn around. But, officials say, he was fortunately equipped with a camper, winter clothing and propane, all of which helped him survive the dire weather conditions.
“He was very, very fortunate to have the experience and the equipment to survive out that time frame,” Kress told KTXL. “Your normal person who did the same thing in their vehicle and got snowed in right before this storm, I think it’d be very rare for them to be able to as well for that length of time.”
The Sheriff’s Office concluded its post with a reminder to travelers: don’t always trust your GPS, especially when driving during wintertime.