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WASHINGTON COUNTY — A Hurricane couple who went missing Wednesday was found Thursday following an extensive overnight search. The couple spent the night in their vehicle, which had become stuck in the snow near Kolob Mountain.
The couple was located by two search and rescue team members 60 yards from the crest of Kolob Mountain shortly before 11:30 a.m. Their rescue came as a relief to their son, who had driven from his home in San Diego the day before after no one was found during a welfare check at the the couple’s home.
Acting on the son’s call to emergency services reporting them missing, Hurricane police officers checked the couple’s home shortly after 1 p.m. Wednesday and noticed that their vehicle, a gray Nissan Xterra, was not parked in the garage.
“The son said he hadn’t heard from his parents. They are new to the area and told him they were going out exploring, but he couldn’t get a hold of them, which he said was very unusual,” Washington County Sheriff’s Sgt. Darrell Cashin said.
An alert was sent out to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office where the couple’s cell phones were pinged to obtain GPS coordinates. One phone pinged from a cell tower in Apple Valley, Cashin said, while the other pinged near the Virgin River, leaving deputies with an enormous search area to cover.
When rescuers initially found the couple, Cashin said, they learned that both didn’t believe they would be found and were “writing things to their families, in case they weren’t found alive.”
Staying with their vehicle and having water on hand resulted in a positive outcome, Cashin said.
“The joy that couple showed, especially after finding them writing to their families, well, my SAR guys said it was very touching,” Cashin said. “Without the call from the couple’s son, things may have turned out very differently.”
To read the full story, visit St. George News.
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