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Survival story: 16 days in snow
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AN alleged Air Force deserter survived for 16 days trapped in a snowdrift in a forest in the state of Oregon by eating candy and snow before being saved by snowmobilers who had to dig through feet of snow to rescue him from his car, US police said on Wednesday.
Thomas Truett, 29, was pulled from his vehicle last Saturday suffering from frostbite, hypothermia and dehydration.
Truett, a fuel management technician at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota, had allegedly deserted on December 3, setting off on a road trip up the West Coast and into Oregon.
But on December 7 his 1982 Mazda sports car became stuck on a logging road in the middle of Deschutes National Forest, a 1.6 million-acre expanse of mountainous woods in the heart of the Pacific Northwest state of Oregon.
Truett lived in the woods for four days, lighting small fires with his cigarette lighter to keep warm. After the lighter ran out of fuel, Truett sought shelter in his car, living on a quart of water, some orange juice and a package of M&M almond candies.
As the winter skies dumped 4-1/2 feet of snow on the forest, burying his car in a snowdrift, Truett wrote a farewell note to his parents.
Last Thursday, Truett heard snowmobiles nearby and threw his backpack and other items out of his window in a desperate but futile bid to attract attention.
The next day, another group of snowmobilers were cruising past the area when they noticed part of a backpack sticking out of the snow. They dug the pack out and tossed it aside, where it knocked snow off Truett's car, revealing the windshield and the unfortunate occupant behind it.
Truett was airlifted to a nearby hospital, where he was listed in fair condition and due to be released on Wednesday.(SD-Agencies)
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