Alabama couple using GPS device latest to be stuck on Bear Camp road
The Associated Press, Nov 22, 2009 12:08AM
GRANTS PASS — An Alabama couple following directions from a GPS device got stuck and were rescued from the snowy, mountainous back road where a San Francisco man got lost and died in 2006 authorities say. The Curry County sheriff’s office says Charles and Karen Hill of Florence, Ala., didn’t know what conditions lay ahead when they tried to take the narrow, twisty Bear Camp road through the Coast Range of Southern Oregon.
When the Hills got stuck Thursday in their two-wheel-drive pickup truck, they used a cell phone to call for help. Rescuers got to them about three hours later on four-wheel-drive vehicles and snowmobiles, the sheriff’s office said.
In December 2006, James Kim died of hypothermia after getting stuck in a storm and trying to walk for help. His wife and two daughters stayed with the vehicle and were later rescued.
He was attempting to drive from Interstate 5 west to the Oregon coast. The Hills were driving east from coastal U.S. 101 to get to the interstate, the sheriff’s office said.
At least 30 other people have gotten lost or stranded in the past 15 years on the twisty, narrow road. A Montana man died in 1994 after being stranded for several weeks.
After Kim’s death, the state put up more signs and kiosks to give warnings and information. Federal agencies advise against using it in the winter.
The rescue of the Hills was at least the second of the year.
In April, a woman and her border collie were rescued after her car got stuck in snow. Deputies say the women stayed overnight in her car and then hiked seven miles to get within cell phone range.
