Didn't see this posted.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110509/ap_on_re_us/us_missing_canadian_couple
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">TWIN FALLS, Idaho – A Canadian woman who lived off nothing but trail mix, fish oil tablets and candy for seven weeks in the remote Nevada mountains was upgraded to a solid diet Monday, and hospital officials said her spirits were "extremely high" despite nearly starving to death.
A search team resumed looking for her husband, who set off on foot March 22 to get help after the couple got stuck on a muddy road in northeastern Nevada while driving to Las Vegas.
Rita Chretien, 56, of Penticton, British Columbia, was scheduled to remain at St. Luke's Magic Valley Medical Center in Twin Falls, where she was upgraded to a regular diet Monday morning.
Chretien had been eating yogurt and dairy products and told doctors she prefers rice over potatoes and salads, the hospital said. She will have her choice of six small regular meals per day as she continues physical therapy.
"Her spirits are extremely high," said hospital spokesman Ken Dey said in a statement. "The medical team is watching her closely, but indicators of her recovery are very good."
Hunters found Rita Chretien on Friday, after they spotted her van mired in mud on a national forest road in Elko County, Nev., near the Idaho border.
Alone in the rugged and isolated country, Rita Chretien survived on a tablespoon of trail mix, a single fish oil pill and a single hard candy a day, her son, Raymond Chretien, said Sunday.
She reportedly lost 20 to 30 pounds during the time she was stranded, and family members and doctors agree she faced the prospect of death had she not been found.
"We got the biggest miracle we could ever ask for," Raymond Chretien said Sunday. "But there's still one more to come in."
Doctors said Rita Chretien's fair condition belies the serious straits she was in when the hunters stumbled upon her vehicle.
"She was getting near the end," said Dr. James Westberry. "We are familiar with starvation in our line of work, but this is a once in a lifetime for us. She obviously had the mindset of survival and that must have been something to help her go as long as she did."
Her son said she sensed her ordeal was about to come to an end a day before she was found.
"She got ready on Thursday to be with her Savior or rescued," Raymond Chretien said.
The couple was last seen on a surveillance video on March 19 while stopping for gas in Baker City, Ore., a small ranching town about two hours west of Boise. They own a commercial excavating business and were headed to Las Vegas for a trade show.
After their disappearance, the Chretiens became the subject of a search by Oregon State Police, Royal Canadian Mounted Police and other law enforcement agencies. Vehicles and aircraft covered 3,000 miles of roads, scouring the back roads that crisscross the remote region near the Snake River near where they had last been seen.
The city of Penticton, on the shores of Okanagan and Skaha lakes just north of the Washington border, had set up a fund to aid in the search for the couple.
Numerous tips came in during the week after they went missing, but none indicated the route the couple had taken. The Canadian police major crime unit was involved because of concern the couple was the victim of foul play.
Penticton Mayor Dan Ashton said Rita Chretien's discovery was almost unbelievable.
"If it's not a miracle, it's damn close to a miracle, that she was able to survive for that period of time," Ashton said Monday. "We just hope it will be a similar outcome with Mr. Chretien."
The couple got stuck after taking a scenic detour on their way south.
Rita Chretien told investigators she last saw her husband when he set off for help on foot with a GPS unit a few days after they got stuck.
Raymond Chretien said that during the intervening seven weeks, his mother got out of the van and walked every day. She relied on the Bible during her ordeal, returning again and again to Psalm 86, which includes the passage "Hear my prayer, Lord, listen to my cry for mercy. When I am in distress, I call to you, because you answer me."
"She had books she was reading," Raymond Chretien said. "She had time to read some twice."
The Chretiens' ordeal is another reminder of the danger unprepared motorists face when they stray on rarely traveled back roads with the threat of foul weather.
In 2006, TV personality James Kim died of hypothermia after he, his wife and two children became stranded in the remote mountains of Oregon.
Northern Nevada's remote and rugged terrain has made it difficult for crews looking for Albert Chretien. Roads in the area are a "spider web" that can be confusing to navigate, and crews were not sure which direction Albert Chretien headed after leaving his wife.
Rain, snow and high winds forced searchers to end their efforts early Sunday. The search resumed on Monday, using the van as a starting point.
The search team included 25 people, horses and all-terrain vehicles resumed looking for her husband, KTVB-TV reported.
Westberry said Rita Chretien was calm and able to communicate well when she arrived at the hospital.
"My impression was very pleased and happy that she was doing as well as she was," he said. "We're very optimistic that she will have a good recovery. The fact that she was in fairly good baseline health to begin with was in her favor."</div></div>
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110509/ap_on_re_us/us_missing_canadian_couple
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">TWIN FALLS, Idaho – A Canadian woman who lived off nothing but trail mix, fish oil tablets and candy for seven weeks in the remote Nevada mountains was upgraded to a solid diet Monday, and hospital officials said her spirits were "extremely high" despite nearly starving to death.
A search team resumed looking for her husband, who set off on foot March 22 to get help after the couple got stuck on a muddy road in northeastern Nevada while driving to Las Vegas.
Rita Chretien, 56, of Penticton, British Columbia, was scheduled to remain at St. Luke's Magic Valley Medical Center in Twin Falls, where she was upgraded to a regular diet Monday morning.
Chretien had been eating yogurt and dairy products and told doctors she prefers rice over potatoes and salads, the hospital said. She will have her choice of six small regular meals per day as she continues physical therapy.
"Her spirits are extremely high," said hospital spokesman Ken Dey said in a statement. "The medical team is watching her closely, but indicators of her recovery are very good."
Hunters found Rita Chretien on Friday, after they spotted her van mired in mud on a national forest road in Elko County, Nev., near the Idaho border.
Alone in the rugged and isolated country, Rita Chretien survived on a tablespoon of trail mix, a single fish oil pill and a single hard candy a day, her son, Raymond Chretien, said Sunday.
She reportedly lost 20 to 30 pounds during the time she was stranded, and family members and doctors agree she faced the prospect of death had she not been found.
"We got the biggest miracle we could ever ask for," Raymond Chretien said Sunday. "But there's still one more to come in."
Doctors said Rita Chretien's fair condition belies the serious straits she was in when the hunters stumbled upon her vehicle.
"She was getting near the end," said Dr. James Westberry. "We are familiar with starvation in our line of work, but this is a once in a lifetime for us. She obviously had the mindset of survival and that must have been something to help her go as long as she did."
Her son said she sensed her ordeal was about to come to an end a day before she was found.
"She got ready on Thursday to be with her Savior or rescued," Raymond Chretien said.
The couple was last seen on a surveillance video on March 19 while stopping for gas in Baker City, Ore., a small ranching town about two hours west of Boise. They own a commercial excavating business and were headed to Las Vegas for a trade show.
After their disappearance, the Chretiens became the subject of a search by Oregon State Police, Royal Canadian Mounted Police and other law enforcement agencies. Vehicles and aircraft covered 3,000 miles of roads, scouring the back roads that crisscross the remote region near the Snake River near where they had last been seen.
The city of Penticton, on the shores of Okanagan and Skaha lakes just north of the Washington border, had set up a fund to aid in the search for the couple.
Numerous tips came in during the week after they went missing, but none indicated the route the couple had taken. The Canadian police major crime unit was involved because of concern the couple was the victim of foul play.
Penticton Mayor Dan Ashton said Rita Chretien's discovery was almost unbelievable.
"If it's not a miracle, it's damn close to a miracle, that she was able to survive for that period of time," Ashton said Monday. "We just hope it will be a similar outcome with Mr. Chretien."
The couple got stuck after taking a scenic detour on their way south.
Rita Chretien told investigators she last saw her husband when he set off for help on foot with a GPS unit a few days after they got stuck.
Raymond Chretien said that during the intervening seven weeks, his mother got out of the van and walked every day. She relied on the Bible during her ordeal, returning again and again to Psalm 86, which includes the passage "Hear my prayer, Lord, listen to my cry for mercy. When I am in distress, I call to you, because you answer me."
"She had books she was reading," Raymond Chretien said. "She had time to read some twice."
The Chretiens' ordeal is another reminder of the danger unprepared motorists face when they stray on rarely traveled back roads with the threat of foul weather.
In 2006, TV personality James Kim died of hypothermia after he, his wife and two children became stranded in the remote mountains of Oregon.
Northern Nevada's remote and rugged terrain has made it difficult for crews looking for Albert Chretien. Roads in the area are a "spider web" that can be confusing to navigate, and crews were not sure which direction Albert Chretien headed after leaving his wife.
Rain, snow and high winds forced searchers to end their efforts early Sunday. The search resumed on Monday, using the van as a starting point.
The search team included 25 people, horses and all-terrain vehicles resumed looking for her husband, KTVB-TV reported.
Westberry said Rita Chretien was calm and able to communicate well when she arrived at the hospital.
"My impression was very pleased and happy that she was doing as well as she was," he said. "We're very optimistic that she will have a good recovery. The fact that she was in fairly good baseline health to begin with was in her favor."</div></div>
