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A Missouri couple was rescued Monday after they followed directions from their GPS unit that led them to an almost impassable unpaved road in the Mount Scott/Rock Creek area, police said Wednesday.
On Monday, at about 6:50 p.m., the 911 dispatch center received a cellular 911 call from Jessica Ayn Vandeslice, 20, stating that she and her boyfriend, Jeremy Shawn Dryden 25, both from Missouri, were near the Rock Creek fish hatchery on a dirt road and their vehicle was stuck on a rock, according to a Douglas County Sheriff's Office news release.
A sheriff's office BLM contract deputy and members of the Search and Rescue 4-wheel drive unit responded to the area to try to locate the couple. Vandeslice and Dryden were able to provide a latitude and longitude reading from their portable GPS unit that enabled rescuers to pinpoint their location.
At about 11:45 p.m., rescuers located Vandeslice and Dryden on the 7000 block of Rock Creek Road. The Bureau of Land Management road was almost impassable due to mud and ruts. Rescuers were able to help the stranded drivers and escorted them back to Interstate 5.
The couple told deputies they had been on I-5 near Sutherlin earlier in the evening and wanted to drive to Susan Creek Falls. They followed directions provided by their portable GPS unit. The GPS unit gave directions that took them east of Sutherlin through the Mt. Scott/Rock Creek area.
This route is primarily unpaved roads not suitable for passenger vehicles and definitely not advisable for a person unfamiliar with travel on forest roads, the release said.
The sheriff's office would like to remind people that portable GPS units can be useful but people should use caution and common sense when navigating with them, especially in areas that they are unfamiliar with, the release said.
This is not the first time a driver has relied on GPS directions and ended up stuck in a remote area.
On Monday, at about 6:50 p.m., the 911 dispatch center received a cellular 911 call from Jessica Ayn Vandeslice, 20, stating that she and her boyfriend, Jeremy Shawn Dryden 25, both from Missouri, were near the Rock Creek fish hatchery on a dirt road and their vehicle was stuck on a rock, according to a Douglas County Sheriff's Office news release.
A sheriff's office BLM contract deputy and members of the Search and Rescue 4-wheel drive unit responded to the area to try to locate the couple. Vandeslice and Dryden were able to provide a latitude and longitude reading from their portable GPS unit that enabled rescuers to pinpoint their location.
At about 11:45 p.m., rescuers located Vandeslice and Dryden on the 7000 block of Rock Creek Road. The Bureau of Land Management road was almost impassable due to mud and ruts. Rescuers were able to help the stranded drivers and escorted them back to Interstate 5.
The couple told deputies they had been on I-5 near Sutherlin earlier in the evening and wanted to drive to Susan Creek Falls. They followed directions provided by their portable GPS unit. The GPS unit gave directions that took them east of Sutherlin through the Mt. Scott/Rock Creek area.
This route is primarily unpaved roads not suitable for passenger vehicles and definitely not advisable for a person unfamiliar with travel on forest roads, the release said.
The sheriff's office would like to remind people that portable GPS units can be useful but people should use caution and common sense when navigating with them, especially in areas that they are unfamiliar with, the release said.
This is not the first time a driver has relied on GPS directions and ended up stuck in a remote area.
