A couple missing from Vancouver, Wash. was found alive Friday after spending several days trapped in a snowbank in their vehicle.
Family members said John and Pat Norvell — both 63 and diabetic, dependent upon insulin — were driving on Monday near the Ape Caves near Cougar, Wash. when they slid into a ditch and became stuck. They were stranded for days, left with only water to survive until they were found.
"Four-wheel drive wasn't working, and they were stuck at that point," said family member Leland Foster. "They kept turning on and off the vehicle to keep the heat up."
On Friday, John left the car for a bathroom break and saw a woman in the roadway — and he began shouting for help.
"His wife thought he was hallucinating," Foster said.
'Simply amazing'
But fate was on their side, and the Norvells had crossed paths with four campers. The strangers were able to get them to a spot where cell phone service was available, and they called Clark Co. dispatchers at around 8:30 p.m.
When rescue crews found them, they were conscious and alert, and they were reunited late Friday night with their family in Woodland. Their granddaughter called the survival "simply amazing."
The Clark Co. Sheriff's Office's Major Crimes Unit had been investigating the case since Wednesday night, when the family filed a missing persons report. The Norvells hadn't been in contact with their family since Sunday, and family members and friends knew something was wrong when their bank account hadn't been accessed and their cats hadn't been fed.
