Do you have a regular route you like to go for your weekend rides? I know I do; In fact, I have a pair. They don’t always like us when we go out, but a lot of times, we do. In my case, I’m talking about motorcycles on the roads, but this question could easily apply to nearby trails, where you may also collide with your motorcycle, UTV, or ATV.
The advantage of driving or riding to a familiar place is that you may get to see something different this time. And plus, you already have some familiarity with it, which can make it easier to relax and have fun because it’s not brand new, and overload your senses with information while you figure out which lines to take.
Two lifelong friends who love to regularly hit the trails in northern Minnesota decided to take a different path than usual, and their names are Adam Sandbach and Mike Gravelin. Deviating from their usual route, they opted to take a solo UTV (Gravelin Polaris RZR) instead of driving their respective vehicles as usual. And it seems those two changes to a normal routine may have saved a missing woman’s life.
In form of Minnesota Star-Tribune tells the storyThe riders took a different route than usual, and then noticed they were running low on gas, despite being about 30 miles from the RV park where they were camping.
But then, they found an unmarked maintained road and thought it was a good shortcut, so they headed on it; He says he probably wouldn’t have been able to do it if he had had two UTVs instead of just one. The unmarked road was full of rough terrain and potholes, so the bumpy ride was made even more uncertain by recent heavy rains in the area.
Just around a corner, they found an unexpected Chrysler Town & Country minivan that seemed completely unsuitable for off-roading. They immediately became suspicious, and then they saw what appeared to be a human body lying in a puddle.
“I just remember saying to myself, ‘Oh God, please don’t be a dead person,'” Sandbeck said. “She was completely submerged.”
Going closer, they could only see a woman’s hand and parts of her face above the surface of the dirty water.
Then he heard her whisper: “Help me.”
Only later would they learn more about who this woman was, and that she was: 68-year-old Katherine Woessner of Alexandria, who was last seen in Hubbard County, MN, about six miles from this location.
But none of that mattered at that moment; All they knew was that they had to get him out of there. apparently she will stayed there for three daysWhich also includes heavy rain. Although it is still unclear how she got there, it is reported that her minivan got stuck in the mud, and so she got out to try to get it out. Then she fell into a puddle and got stuck, describing the mud as similar to sand. She found herself completely trapped and unable to free herself. The mud was about two feet deep, and the sun, heat, and dehydration caused by being stuck there for several days certainly didn’t help.
Both men called 911, and credited the Polaris RideCommand system in the RZR with providing accurate coordinates so first responders could quickly find them. At the time, the two rescuers did not know she had been reported missing until they heard paramedics saying they thought it was her.
Fortunately, she is now recovering from the ordeal in a hospital in Brainerd. Investigators are still trying to figure out how she got to where she was found, as it was about 100 miles from her home. But as of now, the good news is that she is alive and recovering.
