Woman rescued after 14 hours trapped 50 metres down Okanagan embankment
Car went off the road near Cherryville, B.C.; woman found 50 metres below lying in snow
Update, Jan.2: The victim died from complications arising from the accident on Dec. 22.
A North Okanagan woman was rushed to hospital in "remarkable, but very cold" condition after spending 14 hours outside when her car left the road east of Cherryville, B.C.
The woman spent Monday night trapped 50 metres down an embankment just off Highway 6. She was eventually removed in a high-angle rope rescue.
"It appeared that when she tried to get out of the car, that it was on a very steep slope," said Leigh Pearson, a search manager with Vernon Search and Rescue.
"She had to climb out the passenger door and as soon as the door opened, she just fell out and away she went, bouncing down the hill."
Pearson said the vehicle was found about 10 metres off the side of the road, and the woman was found another 40 metres down the slope.
Husband discovered crash site
The car went off the highway at about 1 p.m. Monday, but Vernon Search and Rescue was not called until 2 a.m. PT Tuesday.
When the woman's husband realized she was missing, he went looking and found the accident site, said Pearson.
"He luckily discovered a set of vehicle tracks going off the bank in the snow, so he stopped to investigate and there was her car."
Firefighters, RCMP and search volunteers all responded to the site. The woman was put on a stretcher and rescuers used ropes to carry her out.
"It took awhile, because it's a long way and because it was so steep. We had to do multiple lifts to get her out," said Pearson.
He described her as being very cold but in "remarkable shape ... considering what she'd gone through."
It is unclear why the woman's vehicle left the highway.
With files from CBC's Brady Strachan.