Stranded man, 60, walks 20 miles for help
PRINEVILLE, Ore. (AP) — A 60-year-old man whose pickup ran out of gas on a forest road east of Prineville walked 20 miles over two days before he was found by his brothers.
The Crook County sheriff's office and search and rescue volunteers also had been looking for David Whitson of La Grande.
Undersheriff John Gautney says Whitson was scraped and dehydrated Wednesday but otherwise in good shape.
KTVZ reports Whitson apparently spent two nights in the Ochoco National Forest after he ran out of gas and called his family.
They were unable to find him or his truck so they called the sheriff's office.
Gautney says the sheriff's office was tracking pings from Whitson's cell phone, but he got mad and threw it away when he lost coverage.
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Information from: KTVZ-TV, http://www.ktvz.com/
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
always drive into the woods when the fuel guage says empty. Â Something tells me this guy needed the exercise and time to reflect on his dumb move.
I learned something from this. I just put a gallon of drinking water behind my seat...just in case.Â
How did we ever get along without cell phones anyway? I hate to say this but the old crank phones had to have batteries also. Dry cells, ugh, long time ago.
Glad he was found in good shape. Scary!
Oh, don't throw the cell phone away...even when dead they can be a life saver! Glad he is O.K.
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