Rita and her husband Albert, who has not yet been found, embarked on a 1,200 mile road trip to the tourist hotspot, but they ended up stranded in the mud out in the Nevada wilderness, miles away from any civilization.
After sitting idle for a few days, Albert left on foot in search of help, while Rita stayed behind and survived on just a few pieces of candy she rationed as best she could. Her condition is stable and she could be released from hospital in a few days.
The van you see in the picture was Rita Chretien’s home for seven hard weeks. In order to survive, she rationed the food she had and drank melted snow. She tried making a fire to keep warm, but it was to damp to light, so she huddled in the Astro van and stuffed pieces of an old phonebook in the window cracks to keep the cold air out.
Hunters eventually found her after they noticed the white cloth on the van’s antenna - a sign of distress. Rita had lost 30 pounds and doctors say she was days away from death, so it’s a miracle she was found in time.
Despite a search of three states, Albert Chretien has not been found and the search continues.
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