Karen Klein, her husband, and her 10-year-old son, were traveling down a frozen road when their car fell into a ditch off a secluded road.
With no help in sight and no cell phone reception, Klein did what any great mother would do, she started walking to find help. By the end of her journey the brave mom would walk 26 freezing miles.
Karen was headed to the Grand Canyon National Park with her husband Eric and their 10-year-old child. State Road 67, which leads to the canyon’s north rim, is closed down for the winter. In response to the road closure, their car’s GPS led them down several service roads.
When the family realized the roads were not safe it was too late. They attempted to turn around and instead were met with a snow covered ditch.
Eric waited in the car with their son and after 24 hours he decided to hike up a hill where he found a little bit of cell phone reception.
Rescuers eventually went in search of Karen and found her inside a guard shack that had closed for the reason.
She hiked 26 miles for 30 straight hours and was almost unresponsive when they found her.
“She would make a decision and she would stick to it and never give up,” her twin sister, Kristen Haase, told WFMZ. “She would do it or she would die trying.”
After running out of food and water she ate pine twigs and drank her own urine, her sister told the Morning Call newspaper.
Karen had to remove her shoe to remove a piece of ice and couldn’t get the shoe back on. Instead, she walked the last four miles with one bare foot.
Karen was awake for 45 hours straight before she found the guard shack and hunkered down until help could arrive. She broke a window, climbed inside, and huddled up under some blankets that had been left inside.
Her husband’s action may have saved her life but this brave mom was willing to do whatever it took to save her family.
