Trucker Survives 4 Nights In Forest; Walks 14 Miles To Safety

LA GRANDE, OR — An Eastern Oregon truck driver reportedly walked 14 miles through snowy mountains before he was rescued four days after he was reported missing.

Jacob Aaron Cartwright, 22, told Boise's KTVB News that although he feels like everything in his body is broken, he's thankful to be back with his family after the harrowing ordeal.

According to Oregon State Police, Cartwright was driving goods from Portland to Nyssa for Little Trees Transportation when his GPS directed him to drive his 2005 Kenworth CMV off Highway 244 and onto a narrow Forest Service Road west of Hilgard State Park.

Cartwright was around Pendleton at 5:30 p.m. April 24 when anyone had last heard from him, state police said. Cartwright was supposed to be in Nyssa in Malheur County by 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 25, but when he didn't stop in La Grande to refuel his truck Tuesday night his family became concerned.

"Oh, the worst fear," Jacob's mother, Natalie, told KTVB reporters. "This was always my fear of him driving trucks."

From Interstate-84 in Pendleton, Cartwright reportedly turned onto U.S. Highway 395 and somehow ended up on Oregon Highway 244. From there, Cartwright was further directed onto Forest Service Road 51, then Forest Service Road 5125.

"He was following his GPS," Jacob's father, John Cartwright, told KTVB. "The GPS actually had him turn onto a logging service road, and when he turned onto that road he thought, 'Something's not right.'"

"By the time I started seeing snow, I figured this is not right but I have to find somewhere to turn around," Jacob explained.

Cartwright reportedly traveled about 9 miles along the winding, narrow Forest Service Road before his CMV began to slide, ultimately becoming stuck along a steep embankment on the shoulder of the road.

After waiting several hours, and finding himself unable to call for help due to a lack of cellular service in the remote area, Cartwright made the bold decision to walk out just after midnight on Wednesday, April 25.

All Cartwright reportedly carried with him were his useless cell phone and headset, a pocket knife, and three bottles of water.

Trudging through mud and snow at elevations between 5,000 and 6,500 feet, Cartwright spent the next two days and nights navigating his way east toward where he hoped civilization would be.

Stumbling out of the woods two days and 14 miles away from where he started, Cartwright was able to flag down a driver on I-84, 9 miles south of La Grande.

The unidentified Samaritan reportedly recognized Cartwright as the missing truck driver from the news.

Around 10:15 a.m. April 28, Oregon State Police learned Cartwright was found and on his way to hospital in La Grande for medical evaluation.

Explaining what he had just experienced to troopers, Cartwright told police he was unsure where precisely he'd left his truck — somewhere on a road that starts with "G", he said.

Presuming Cartwright meant Grande Ronde River Road, another name for Forest Service Road 51, Oregon State Police deployed an aircraft to fly over the area roughly 1.5 miles from where Cartwright's GPS last sent a ping.

From the air, OSP pilots spotted the stuck CMV just before 11 a.m.

Troopers arrived at the truck about an hour later and learned Cartwright had gotten stuck a good 21 miles from his last known GPS location.

"This whole time you're going from heart break to hope," Natalie told KTVB. "Not wanting to have to bury your child and it turns out your child is still alive."

As for Cartwright himself, "I finally got to see my wife and kids and everything, and I was like, 'thank God,'" he said.

Images via Oregon State Police, Autumn Johnson/Patch