After a G.P.S. guided an Oregon couple onto a remote mountain road in deep snow on their trip home for Christmas, they began to give up all hope of being rescued. INSIDE EDITION has the harrowing story.
An Oregon couple learned the hard way, that when you program your G.P.S. unit, you shouldn't always follow the directions, this after they nearly lost their lives on a snowy road.
"It was very scary. I really didn't think we were going to be found," said Megan Garrison. Megan and her fiancee Jeramie are grateful they're alive and their baby is safe after following their G.P.S. unit to near disaster, stranding them on a snow-covered road.
The 27-year old mom from Lebanon, Oregon began documenting her trip in a home video after she feared she would not survive. In the video she recorded herself saying, "It's Christmas morning. We have literally been stuck in the snow for 12 hours. It's 19 degrees and we have the baby with us."
Their trouble started after programming their G.P.S. unit on Christmas eve.
"We were very excited to use our new G.P.S. We had just gotten it," said Megan.
The shortcut took them to Highway 26 at Detroit Lake. They wanted to drive from Lebanon to their parents house in Maupin, Oregon, 180 miles away. Their G.P.S. unit gave them a route that actually trimmed 40 miles off their normal trip. But what they didn't realize was the shortcut was taking them on a remote road that is treacherous in wintertime because of deep snow. Two hours into their trip, Megan and Jeramie found themselves stuck.
Megan said, "The G.P.S. took us onto a one lane national forest road that definitely was not paved."
Jeremie walked for miles to find help but no one was in sight. Making matters worse, they couldn't get cell reception and baby Lexi was out of milk and was forced to drink melted snow. With gas running low, they were scared to turn on the car's heater and had to brave sub zero temperatures. The couple began to give-up, leaving a goodbye message to loved ones in their video diary. Jeramie recorded, "I love you. Hope everybody has a good year. In case this don't work out."
When Megan and Jeramie failed to show up at grandma's house there was concern. Desperate relatives put the same addresses into their G.P.S. and were led directly to where Megan and Jeramie were stuck. They were able to pull them out of the deep snow so they could finish their trip.
The final entry on their video diary says it all when they recorded, "Christmas miracles do happen."
As for their G.P.S. unit, Megan says they'll still use it but if going into an unfamiliar area, will check the internet or a map for backup directions.
