A couple veered off the beaten path while driving to Vernon last month, leaving them running into a tree nowhere near their destination.
Chase RCMP came to the rescue after receiving a phone call just after 7 p.m. on Dec. 11 about a single-vehicle collision on a Forest Service Road in Pritchard.
Sgt. Barry Kennedy said the person calling told police she and her boyfriend were travelling from Kamloops to Vernon.
Unfamiliar with the area, they used Google Maps to plan their route. She said the route sent them up Martin Prairie Road from the Trans- Canada Highway and onto a back road, which is not maintained in the winter. Nonetheless, they continued along the route until they lost traction while travelling down a steep section of the road.
They slid down the hill, off the road and into a tree. Luckily they were not injured, Kennedy said.
The couple was forced to walk for several kilometres before they were able to get sufficient cell service to dial 911.
Chase officers located the pair about an hour later.
“They were very relieved to see police, as they had been walking for quite some time in the cold and dark and in the snow – with coyotes howling in the distance,” Kennedy recounted.
The couple was provided with transportation back to Chase, where they were able to make necessary arrangements.
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