Family Rescued After GPS Fails Them in Rockies

The quickest route from El Paso, Texas, to Norwood, Colorado, turned out not to be. A family of three took the advice of their GPS in the Rockies and became stuck in San Juan National Forest. The family was reported missing Monday evening and was spotted walking from the air about 9am Tuesday, during a three-county, multiagency search, CNN reports. The unidentified family was making a furniture delivery in a rented truck and turned onto a recommended road, where they became mired in snow. The couple, with their 12-year-old daughter, were unable to dig the truck out.

"The family stayed warm by running the truck engine and covering with furniture blankets," a sheriff's spokeswoman told CNN on Tuesday. "This morning they wrapped their tennis shoes with shipping plastic to help walk in snow and started walking." The sheriff attributed their survival to moderate temperatures—for the Rockies—and the air search. "People need to remember that electronic GPS systems are not always the best guide," the San Miguel County sheriff said. "At this time of year especially, roads like these are not always passable." (More search stories.)