GLOBE, Ariz. - An 86-year-old man yesterday described how he and his wife spent five grueling days stranded in their car in the rugged Arizona mountains during a snowstorm, watching his spouse collapse to her death in the freezing cold as they tried to walk for help.
Dana Davis of Albuquerque spoke at a news conference yesterday at the hospital where is recovering and is in good condition, despite walking 8 miles and spending a night under a tree after losing his wife.
He said he and his 82-year-old wife, Elizabeth, rationed sandwiches, cookies, chocolate bars, and juice. Elizabeth wrote letters to her children and grandchildren. They ran the engine of their Buick at night to stay warm, but ran out of gas on Tuesday and decided to venture out for help.
They bundled up and put socks on their hands. But it was too much for Elizabeth.
“She was pretty convinced she was not going to get out of there,’’ he said. “Me, I’m pretty stubborn. I was going to walk until I found someone.’’
He knew he would have to forge ahead to survive, so he moved her body off the road and kept walking. He strung pieces of yarn along his route - his wife of 60 years was an avid knitter - to guide rescuers to the body.
He walked from 10 a.m. until sunset and found a spot under a tree to spend the night. The next day, he resumed walking and encountered snow that was piled several feet high along the road.
Finally, an officer with the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation appeared in a sport utility vehicle and he was saved.