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Amanda Butterfield reportingTom and Tamitha Garner are now resting comfortably in their own home.
Tom Garner drove up from Cedar City with his parents and arrived around 5 p.m. The first thing he did was give his daughter a big hug. His wife drove up with other people earlier today.
This is the first time in nearly two weeks Tom and Tamitha Garner will be spending the night in their own beds, at home in Kearns. While the couple was on their way home, we went out looking for their truck, stuck in remote Modena Canyon, and our Chopper Five found it and has the pictures you will only see here on KSL.
Not only did we find the truck stuck in several feet of snow, but we're going to show you inside the cab, where Tom and Tamitha Garner waited it out for 12 days.
The truck was home for Tom and Tamitha Garner and their dog Medusa for eleven freezing nights. "By that time we had actually started eating dog food to survive," Tamitha said. But tonight, they're home, warm, with plenty of food. "I'm grateful to be home, and I want homemade macaroni and cheese!" she said.
As the Garners were driving home, Chopper five spotted their truck. You can see the couple's tracks and a suitcase they dragged behind them. The day the couple was found was the day they decided to look for help themselves, but they didn't have to go far until a road crew found them.
"I'm running. I'm screaming. I'm crying. I'm jumping up and down. I'm like am seeing things. It was, it was wonderful," Tamitha told reporters.
Jordan Smith was driving 30 miles west of Modena Canyon when the couple flagged him down. He said, "The real heroes are the guys that were out searching for 10 days looking for them, and we just happened to be in the right place at the right time."
The Garners spent last night at a hospital in Cedar City and were released today. They made a stop on their way home to go to the funeral of Leroy Davenport, a volunteer who died after searching for the couple.
Tamitha said, "My heart goes out to him, and the widow of the man who passed away."
When the couple arrived at their home, we were there for the reunion with their 19-year-old daughter. Despite some frostbite and dehydration, they're all doing pretty well.
Tamitha said, "I'm stiff, I'm sore, I feel like someone has beat the daylights out of me and ran me over, but other then I'm counting my blessings."
Medusa lost her bark, but she'll be okay. As for Tom, he said, "I'm looking forward to mac and cheese."
They're going to leave the truck where it is for a couple weeks, until the snow has melted some and it's safe to retrieve. After all, it's just a truck.
