Miracles for Christmas – driver (80) was stuck in the woods that night: rescued

It was pitch dark and bitterly cold when an 80-year-old driver from Styria got lost in a forest near Markt Allhau in the Oberwart district around 9 p.m. on Sunday and got stuck with her car. She was in Vienna earlier and on her way home.

sounded the alarm
Concerned, Brigitte P. took out her mobile phone and dialed the emergency number 133. Patrol officers swarmed in. But the driver, who had lost his way, could not provide precise information about her whereabouts. Her cell phone’s multiple location wasn’t accurate enough.

Drone and helicopter on the move
Whether Jormannsdorf, Neustift near Schlaining or the forest from Markt Allhau to St. Johann in der Haide in Styria – the 80-year-old could not be found despite a large-scale search. The use of drones increased. When there was still no sign of P. in the middle of the night, an air traffic police helicopter took off.

discovered light
“This time, the mobile phone tracking was much more accurate. As we circled over the area west of Willersdorf, traffic lights could be seen,” said the cockpit of the Libelle Echo.

“When I heard the helicopter, I gave light signals with the headlights,” says the woman. Officers soon spotted her and knocked on the window of her black Peugeot 207. “Don’t worry, we finally found you,” the police officers said.

Thanks to helpers
“I have a little headache, but otherwise I’m fine,” says Brigitte P. when visiting the “Krone”. All her thanks go to the rescuers: “The police provided help in an emergency.”

Yet it almost borders on a Christmas miracle that the Styrian from the Hartberg-Fürstenfeld district survived this nightmare exhausted but unharmed. The search ended early Monday morning. The fire brigade had to recover the car – without major damage – in the impassable terrain.