Family Stranded in Snowstorm on Hunting Trip Found Safe After 4 Days

A New Mexico family has been found safe and sound after being stranded for days in a snowstorm, police said.

Cutter Rogers of Carlsbad had taken his three children, ranging in age from 11 to 14, to hunt elk on Christmas Eve, according to New Mexico State Police.

The Otero County Sheriff's Office was notified when the family failed to return to their hotel. Deputies asked state police for help in searching for the father and his kids.

The four were found in Rogers' pickup truck, four days after they set out, stuck on a snowbound road, authorities said. They were huddled together for warmth.

Searchers had been down the road before, but had to turn back because of the deep snow. Rescuers returned the area on a snowplow and discovered the family.

More than a foot of snow fell in the mountain area on federal land, where the Rogers family had gone in search of elk.

Rogers, 36, was airlifted off the mountain with his son, Chuck, 14, daughter Kensie, 12, and son  Jase, 11. They were examined and released by medical personnel.

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