How Ruby Stein a 85 year old Colorado great grandmother beat the odds and the elements to stay alive after being stranded 5 days in her snowed in car.
Ruby Stein an 85 year old Colorado woman has defied the improbable. Stranded for five days in her snowbound car, the great grandmother managed to stay alive until help came by munching on her supply of Rice Krispies Treats.
Stein and her cat Nikki were on their way back home after visiting her granddaughter in Gypsum, Colo., but a wrong turn took her 20 miles into the mountains, Tucson News Now reported.
Her Nissan Sentra got stuck at the end of a muddy dirt road, where its battery drained after she left the flashing lights on to try to attract attention. Her cellphone had no signal in the remote spot reported ABC 7 Denver.
“Whatever will be, will be. It’s nothing I can do about it,” Stein said she thought as she sat for days with a large mat to keep her legs warm.
Despite her predicament, Stein remained composed.
‘I keep myself very calm, which surprised me. Of course, if you raise five kids, you know,’ she said.
She fashioned a makeshift blanket from some clothes and melted snow from the dashboard to drink.
For sustenance, she consumed Rice Krispies Treats and sweet rolls — making sure to eat only two bites a day.
Meanwhile, Ruby’s cat helped keep her warm, sleeping on her chest and giving her companionship.
At one point, Ruby wondered if she would be forced to raid Nikki’s supply of cat food to avoid starving to death.
Told the stoic great grandmother, ‘I wondered what that would really taste like’.
Stein said the only time she cried was on day two, when she saw a helicopter and thought it was searching for her.
A statewide missing person alert had been put out, and family members were searching, but they thought she would be somewhere along the I-70 corridor — nowhere near where she was stranded.
After five long days, four nights and more than 120 hours, Stein saw two hikers approaching her. That’s when Ruby started calling out for attention.
‘We stopped and peeked in since the car door was open and asked, ‘Is everybody OK? Is anybody in there?’ hiker Dan Higbee said.
‘I was never so glad to see anybody in my life,‘ Stein said. ‘Because I’ve always been a strong woman, a strong person. I believe whatever happens happens for a reason.’
They say cats have nine lives, maybe Nikki had a few to spare. But then again, maybe a lifetime of resoluteness and stoic heroism also saved Ruby Stein’s life as well ….
