Sisters Stranded In Snowy Michigan Woods For 13 Days Return To UP -- In Summer
CRISP POINT, Mich. (WWJ/AP) - Two sisters who survived after being stranded for nearly two weeks in a remote part of northern Michigan have returned to the Upper Peninsula.
Leslie Roy, 52, and Lee Wright, 56, recently visited the Luce County spot where their SUV became stuck in snow for 13 days in April, the Mining Journal of Marquette reported. Roy says she was "leery" but they wanted to extend their gratitude to rescuers.
"It was uplifting to finally get to the lighthouse," Roy said. "It was beautiful."
The sisters got stuck about 3 miles from Lake Superior after visiting relatives in Ishpeming. They wore layers of clothing, ate snacks and drank melted snow during the 13-day-long ordeal.
Roy, from Nebraska, and Wright, from Oklahoma, were eventually rescued by a police helicopter pilot who noticed a reflection off their SUV. Despite being a "little weak" and shaken up, the women were perfectly fine.
In a statement released shortly after their recovery, the women said "through the days and nights while in the woods" cookies, love and other things helped them to stay alive.
A memorial sign now stands near where the women were located, and an emergency phone was installed at Crisp Point Lighthouse -- in case anyone ends up in a similar situation.
Despite making it out with their lives, Roy and Lee said they will never visit the Upper Peninsula again during the winter.
When the sisters went missing, they were planning to head south toward Mackinaw City — but they never made it to the hotel. Instead, they were trapped in snow on a little-used road with eight boxes of Girl Scout cookies purchased from relatives and a bag of cheese puffs.
"They thought the road was plowed but it wasn't," said Detective Sgt. Jeff Marker.
There was no cellphone service in the area and their car eventually lost power, too. Roy and Wright wore layers of clothes to stay warm as overnight temperatures fell to the 20s, and they also turned snow into water.
"They heard crunching in the woods at night," Marker said. "They thought it was rescuers but no one came. Then they thought it was bears."
Roy said throughout the entire ordeal, she and her sister "never gave up hope" that they would be found.
The sisters are now working on a book chronicling their experiences with Michigan author Peter Wurdock.
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