A Tahoe man missing for several days after his GPS led him off course in a massive Sierra County snowstorm has been found safe.
The Sierra County Sheriff’s Office said the man, identified by KTXL as Harlan Earl, left Grass Valley for Truckee on Highway 49 on January 24 after visiting friends and hadn’t been heard from since. After Earl’s family searched along the road through several counties, he was reported missing last Saturday.
The next day, the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office got a 911 call from Earl himself.
While the call was dropped, he was located using GPS outside Alleghany along a road only open during summer months that hadn’t been plowed.
Officials sent a helicopter and snow vehicles to rescue him.
Earl told officials he had opted to take Highway 49 back to Truckee because of the heavy snowfall, but his GPS directed him off the highway to a shorter route. It turned out to be a mountainous area slammed by heavy snowfall, somewhere between six and eight feet. He ultimately got stuck and couldn't turn around.
His preparedness, it turns out, might have saved his life.
Earl had winter clothing, a camper and propane in tow.
After a week, he was able to hike up to an area to make the 911 call "by using snowboards strapped to his feet as snow shoes," the station reported.
He was reportedly in good condition.
"As a reminder, do not always trust your GPS driving directions, particularly in the winter months," a Facebook post from the sheriff’s office said.
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