Brothers traveling through mountainous forest get lost and stuck for days, CA cops say
A pair of brothers spent days lost in a mountainous forest after their SUV got stuck, California deputies say.
The Glen County Sheriff’s Office got an alert from Apple SOS Emergency at about 4:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 10, about a man and his brother who were stranded in Mendocino National Forest, deputies said in a Jan. 14 Facebook post.
While the pair were making their way across a low-water crossing Monday, Jan. 6, their Toyota RAV4 got stuck, according to deputies.
Glenn County Search and Rescue and California Highway Patrol Air Ops searched the area for the men, who had both been reported missing, deputies said.
A short time later, the ground team found the stranded SUV and one of the brothers, deputies said.
However, the second brother was still missing, as the two “had become separated,” deputies said.
A helicopter crew searched for the missing brother but couldn’t find him, according to deputies.
The next day, the search for the man continued with a ground team and drone team, deputies said.
Then, “as the team searched the mountainous terrain,” a call came into dispatch at about 2:30 p.m.., deputies said.
The missing brother finally reached a spot that had enough cell reception to place a call, deputies said.
Using the location the man gave to dispatchers, rescuers made their way to him, deputies said.
The team safely brought the man back to Willows, where he was reunited with his brother, according to deputies.
When the brothers got stranded, they “were traveling in a remote, mountainous area on non-maintained roads using Google Maps,” deputies said.
“Recreating or driving in remote areas with lack of access to cellular phone reception and local services can be very dangerous,” deputies said, adding that travelers should be aware of their surroundings, road conditions and limitations of their vehicle.
Should you come across roads that are not maintained, deputies said it’s best to turn around and find a different route using maintained roads.
Mendocino National Forest is about a 100-mile drive northwest from Sacramento.
