(CBS DETROIT) — Deputies from the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office followed footprints in the snow to rescue a 64-year-old Lawton man who was lost in a wooded area after crashing his car.
Deputies responded to a crash in the 74000 block of 22nd Street in Porter Township around 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 3.
When they arrived, they found an unoccupied vehicle crashed into a tree. The car was cold, and snow was gathering on it.
The weather at the time was 20 degrees, with high winds and occasional heavy snow.
During an investigation, a nearby resident told deputies that a man had been at their home and said he was having car trouble and was cold. The neighbor said the man was trying to get to a neighbor’s house and walked away before deputies arrived.
While searching the area, deputies found footprints in the snow leading off the road. They followed the footprints through a field, a wooded area and into the edge of a swamp, where they eventually found the unresponsive man lying on the ground under brush.