An 81-year-old man in California, US, survived nearly a week trapped in a snowbank by eating only candy, croissants and biscotti. Jerry Jouret left his mountain home in Big Pine, California, on February 24 to return to his family home in Gardnerville, Nevada - a drive of just over three hours in good weather. However, around 30 minutes into his drive, the mathematician and former NASA employee w lost control of his car and got stuck in a snowbank along a narrow route, as per a report in CNN.
Mr Jouret had to spend the night in his car before the storm passed or he could get assistance. The temperature plunged from the mid-thirties to the teens and the Air Force veteran was left with nothing to keep him warm but a light comforter, a light windbreaker and a hotel bath towel.
His grandson Christian, "He's a pretty small. He doesn't have a whole lot of meat on his bones."
Mr Jouret stayed in his car and used minimal gas and battery power, only sometimes turning the SUV on to warm up. He stayed alive by eating the few snacks he was carrying with himself and would occasionally roll down the windows to eat snow, as per the outlet.
However, according to his grandson, the battery of the car died on the third day while he was rolling up the electric window. During the remainder of his disastrous journey, the window remained open a few inches.
Four days after Mr Jouret left for home, the Inyo County Sheriff's Office received a call about a missing person. Until the severe weather subsided, a search and response team was unable to launch a rescue operation. Six days after the 81-year-old attempted to return home, the authorities discovered a message from his mobile that enabled them to focus their search and ultimately resulted in his recovery.
A California Highway Patrol aircraft found his vehicle buried in about three feet of snow and took him to the hospital. Mr Jouret was in the hospital for a few hours and showed no signs of hypothermia. "The nurses were in shock at how well his vitals were," his grandson told CNN. Although Mr Jouret is making a full recovery, the experience has left him scarred.
