LAKE COUNTY ? A Fremont woman said she and her boyfriend are “just happy to be alive” after being stranded in last week”s storms in the snowy woods of Lake County, subsisting on a can of tomato paste and popcorn.
?”It was like eight days of hell on earth,” Viola Liu said.
Liu and Ryan Barrett, both 31, were found safe Saturday after being reported missing Thursday; they had not been heard from since a day after leaving for a camping trip Jan. 16. They were rescued by a search helicopter that their families had hired to look for them.
Barrett and Liu told family members they were going on a camping trip, possibly to Yosemite or Lake Berryessa, but said they would see what struck them when they got on the road, according to Fremont police.
The couple had become stranded in the forest after their pickup truck was washed out when they were trying to cross a stream on Monday, Liu said.
They were in a remote area with no cell phone service to call for help.
Lake County Sheriff”s Office Search & Rescue staff contacted the families to get information to assist in the search but didn”t receive a call back on the families” rental of a helicopter, Sgt. Gary Basor, Search & Rescue coordinator, said.
The couple took shelter in an empty cabin, but after running out of food set out walking Saturday morning with their three dogs to try to find help. Liu said they had walked close to 10 miles through the snow before becoming exhausted Saturday afternoon. They were about to set up camp there when they heard the search helicopter.
Liu said they were scared but unhurt, aside from blisters Barrett developed during their hike.
Sam Barrett, Ryan Barrett”s brother, had reported them missing after Ryan didn”t show up to baby-sit his nephew Tuesday. By Thursday, the family decided it was more than a miscommunication and reported Barrett and Liu as missing.
?”There are two lessons learned: Tell people where you”re going camping; and if you want to find someone, you need a helicopter,” Sam Barrett said.
Basor said snow and water flows can be quite dangerous and that travelers should use caution when driving on roads they are unfamiliar with and avoid doing so in bad weather.
He recommends campers call or text someone when plans change so that they can avoid getting stranded, Basor said. “I”m glad they were found,” Basor said.
Liu thanked everyone who had searched and prayed for them.
?”We”re so sorry we put them through that, but their prayers were not unanswered,” she said.
Katy Sweeny contributed to this report. She can be reached at ksweeny@record-bee.com or 263-5636, ext. 37.
