Woman found after being stranded for 5 days near Grand Canyon

A Texas woman traveling near the South Rim of the Grand Canyon was found alive Friday after being stranded for five days.

Amber Vanhecke, 24, was traveling in a remote area of the Havasupai Indian Reservation, which spans nearly 189,000 acres, when her car ran out of gas. But she followed the “proper survival procedures in this situation,” the Arizona Department of Public Safety said in a statement.

The department’s air rescue unit was notified Friday by the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office of a 911 call from a stranded woman. Vanhecke told the Sheriff’s Office she had been stranded for five days. The cellphone call dropped before her exact location could be obtained, the department said.

That’s when Vanhecke left her vehicle to find cellphone service.

Deputies from the sheriff’s office and troopers with the department’s air rescue unit determined Vanhecke was probably stranded on Indian Route 18, which stretches approximately 1,043 miles, and Anita Road within the Havasupai reservation.

An air rescue helicopter began a search of the area between Indian Route 18 and U.S. Highway 64, the department said. A glare from Vanhecke’s vehicle was seen during the search, and a large makeshift “HELP” sign was located near the car.

When the helicopter landed, crews found the vehicle empty.

But Vanhecke left a note stating she went to find cellphone signal along the road, the department said.

Crews spotted her on the road “frantically waving” to get their attention.

Her food was gone, and she was nearly out of water when she was found, the department said. Vanhecke was treated at the scene for exposure before she was flown to a trauma center in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Department spokesman Quentin Mehr said rescues like Vanhecke’s, after being stranded for days at a time, are not common.

“They do happen but not on a regular basis,” he said.

Vanhecke, who traveled with food and water in her vehicle, was smart and prepared, crew members said.

“When she left the vehicle, she left notes so we knew where to find her,” trooper paramedic and crew member Edgar Bissonette said.

“She did everything right.”

Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or at 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter.