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California couple rescued from Mendocino National Forest after being stranded in snow for 5 days in their Jeep
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MARK OSBORNE
Good Morning AmericaFebruary 7, 2019




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California couple rescued from Mendocino National Forest after being stranded in snow for 5 days in their Jeep
California couple rescued from Mendocino National Forest after being stranded in snow for 5 days in their Jeep originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

After five days of drinking melted snow, bundled up in a Jeep buried in feet of snow to protect them from freezing temperatures, Maia Herman-Kitami and Carlos Hernandez couldn't have been happier to see a group of strangers on snowmobiles.

Their incessant honking of the horn made that clear.

"I just want to say thank you and how grateful both of us are because without them, we wouldn't be here," Herman-Kitami told San Francisco ABC station KGO on Tuesday, a day after they were pulled out of the snow by good Samaritans.

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PHOTO: Maia Herman-Kitami, 18, and her boyfriend, Carlos Hernandez, 21, were stranded in Mendocino National Forest for five days in their snowed-in Jeep before being rescued on Monday, Feb. 4, 2019. (KGO)
The couple had been snow camping on Jan. 30, but decided to further explore California's Mendocino National Forest the next day. But the weather quickly turned south and the pair's yellow Jeep Wrangler got stuck in the snow. They tried, and failed, to dig the SUV out.

With no cellphone service, it didn't take long for the couple to realize they were in big trouble. They started rationing food and stayed inside the vehicle as the temperatures dipped below freezing. The forecast was for over a foot of snow over the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.

(MORE: Animal clinic revives cat found frozen solid in snow bank)

The couple was supposed to return home to San Francisco on Friday night, and their parents went to police to report them missing on Saturday.

The couple started to get desperate by Monday.

"When it was 4 o'clock and nobody was coming, I started getting kind of emotional and I was just like, 'I want to go home,'" Herman-Kitami told KGO.

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PHOTO: Maia Herman-Kitami, 18, and her boyfriend, Carlos Hernandez, 21, were stranded in Mendocino National Forest for five days in their snowed-in Jeep before being rescued on Monday, Feb. 4, 2019. (KGO)
Enter Jason Logan and his father-in-law Ron Lovell.

The two had heard the couple was missing in their area and debated going out to search for them. A public plea from Hernandez's sister was enough to get them on their snowmobiles.

After four hours of searching on Monday, Logan told Redding ABC affiliate KRCR they were about ready to call it quits. They met up with another group out looking for the couple when moments later, the day of searching finally paid off.

(MORE: Australia flooding prompts rescue operation by air, water)

"Sure enough, we come around the turn and there's a Jeep 300 yards away," said Logan. "It was just mind-boggling."

Then Logan's thoughts turned to reality: Would the pair even have survived the ordeal?

"They started laying on the horn, you saw both doors open and they jumped out each side," said Logan.

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PHOTO: Jason Logan and his father-in-law rescued a couple stranded in Mendocino National Forest for five days. (KRCR)
The rescue likely came just in time. The region got hit by a big snowstorm on Tuesday.
"With the weather we had this morning, I'm fairly convinced the Jeep would have been buried by [Tuesday] morning," said Logan.
 
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Never travel alone up there. That's in my neck of the woods and it can be very deceiving up there. I'd be curious to see exactly what forest service road they were at.
 
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From what i saw on FB it was over by Lake Pillsbury i thought. Oh well, glad some fellow jeepers found them.
I cant believe they just sat there, my wife would of had me out digging us out lol
 
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From what i saw on FB it was over by Lake Pillsbury i thought. Oh well, glad some fellow jeepers found them.
I cant believe they just sat there, my wife would of had me out digging us out lol

Ditto! I would keep digging until I couldn't. Guessing they probably ran out of fuel too.
 
More meat on the bones if you have to go Donner Party on them.
As a 300+ pound man, I tell people I'm exactly who you want to be stranded with. The extra weight helps with traction, you can eat good for a couple of weeks (Donner Party), you can make candles from the blubber, and there's just gotta be a way to put all this fur to good use! (y)
 
Really glad they are OK. 5 days says a lot about character. Very proud of the snow mobilers who went out and found them, and of the many others who got off the couch to look too.

My 3 survival tools, Cell Phone, AAA, VISA. Never leave home without them.
 
As a 300+ pound man, I tell people I'm exactly who you want to be stranded with. The extra weight helps with traction, you can eat good for a couple of weeks (Donner Party), you can make candles from the blubber, and there's just gotta be a way to put all this fur to good use! (y)
but she will eat all the food :(
 
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Did y'all hear about the guy that had this happen, killed and ate a condor and got arrested?

Judge let him off, extenuating circumstances. Then asked how it tasted-

"Kinda like a cross between a bald eagle and spotted owl"
 
At a glance, when I looked at the guy's face impression I start cracking up. I know.... i'm being insensitive :( but that is a lesson learned bec. Millennials do not have that survival-prep. instinct compared to my generation.
 
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