DORION – A family travelling in the Thunder Bay region Jan. 1 got a little too much of a taste of what Northern Ontario winter weather has to offer.
After being stranded in the wilderness in their vehicle for several hours, they also learned not to believe everything they read on the Internet.
The family, two adults and two children, on New Year’s Day were traveling eastbound on Highway 11/17 en route to Ottawa when at about noon the web-based map service they were using told them to proceed onto Highway 527 and ultimately led them to the snow-covered Dorion Cut Off Road.
Faced with limited cell phone service, they managed to send a text to relatives in the nation’s capital. A tow-truck was dispatched, but was unable to locate the lost vehicle.
A second tow-truck was sent out, but could not make its way through the unplowed, snow-covered road.
The operators of the tow truck proceeded on foot for about half an hour, but came up empty.
About 10 hours after their misadventure began, the family was finally located by OPP officers, about 25 kilometres from Highway 527 on the Dorion Cut Off Road.
“The family was found to be in good health but undoubtedly there could have been a very different outcome if they had not been located, as the reported temperature that evening was -25 C,” Const. Diana Cole said in a release issued nine days after the incident.
