Vancouver woman dies after she, sister get stranded in snow

A Vancouver woman died after she and her sister were stranded in their car overnight in Eastern Oregon and then walked 8 miles to a campground.

Vancouver sisters Stella Adamson, 72, and Sue Blake, 80, became stuck in a snowdrift May 13 about 8 miles west of North Fork Campground, according to Grant County (Ore.) Sheriff Glenn Palmer.

Adamson and Blake spent one night in the vehicle before they began walking about 6 a.m. the following day, Palmer wrote in a press release.

The two women walked for 12 hours toward the campground and came upon Robert Nelson of Cove, Ore., who was camping with his wife. Nelson, a member of the Union County Sheriff Search and Rescue Unit, fed the exhausted women and invited them to sleep in his camper for the night, Palmer said.

Around 10 p.m., Adamson complained of chest pains. Nelson drove her to Baker City, Ore., attempting to use his handheld radio to call 911 along the way, Palmer said.

When he arrived at a hospital in Baker City, Adamson was pronounced dead.

Nelson returned to camp to notify Blake of her sister’s death and to retrieve her vehicle from the snowdrift, Palmer said.