GPS Lost then GPS rescued the next day

When people turn on a GPS Device and turn off common sense, interesting things are going to happen. Jeramie Griffin, Megan Garrison, and their toddler are a very good example of driving while GPSing.

The family, using a portable GPS Mr. Griffin received as a Christmas present, tried a "shortcut" from Lebanon, Oregon across the Cascade Range to his family home in Maupin Oregon some four hours away(indicated in blue), and got stuck on a snowy local road for 24 hours before being rescued.(blue push pin)

Mr. Griffin had made the trip several times before. Because they were running late, the 40 mile "shortcut" the device promised was welcomed. But by Christmas morning, the young couple never arrived in Maupin.

To figure out which route he took, Mr. Griffin's nephew Mr. Wiens called a friend with the same GPS unit. After typing in the Maupin address, the navigation system suggested a route through the forest that would have cut 40 miles off their trip.

"It was the old Santiam Highway, up in the Cascades," said Wiens. "This is a summer road, not a winter road, and he didn't know that."

More than once, Wiens almost turned back. But when he saw footprints along Forest Road 46 shortly after 4 p.m., about 17 miles from U.S. 26, he plowed through.

"My nephew came walking up the road. He gave me the biggest hug. They were at wits' end. He broke down in my arms," Wiens said.

Expecting a 3-hour, 40-minute highway drive, the couple wasn't carrying food or water or warm clothes. Both adults tried to hike out for help and to get cell-phone service. The couple even recorded their final goodbyes on home video, he said.
quotes used from The Oregonian

View GPS route thru Willamette National Forest in a larger map