UP woman, 69, walks nine miles to safety

REPUBLIC — A 69-year-old woman who took a wrong turn and became stuck in the snow walked nine miles before finding help, according to Michigan State Police.

Troopers from the Negaunee Post said the search for the woman began after she was reported to be in distress around 3:35 p.m. Thursday in zero-degree weather.

The Marquette County dispatch center had received a call from a Republic resident who said her sister from Menominee was traveling to Republic and had become lost. The sister took a wrong turn and got stuck in snowbank in a remote area, police said.

The 69-year-old woman stayed with her car until it ran out of gas and she then began walking to stay warm.

The Marquette County dispatch center and troopers were able to chart the woman’s location by pinging her cellphone. They located the vehicle and then saw footprints in the snow off the road “a long way from the car.”

After further searching the plotted area, troopers located the woman nine miles from the car. She had come into contact with a rural mail delivery driver and was seated in the mail person’s car, warming up. She told police she had been walking since 10 a.m.

Police said she refused any medical treatment and was transported to her sister’s home.

—Ralph Ansami