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CHP Helicopter Helps Guide Rescuers To Family Stranded In El Dorado County Backcountry

EL DORADO COUNTY (CBS13) - The CHP has released impressive video of a rescue in snowy El Dorado County.

A helicopter helped save a man and his five children in a rural area near El Dorado County's Junction Reservoir.

Every second counted for a father and five children who were lost in the wilderness north of Highway 50. Thankfully, GPS picked up their location from a cell phone and CHP launched their helicopter.

This picturesque scene was anything but peaceful for a family in desperate need of help Sunday morning in the frigid Ice House Road area near the Junction Reservoir.

The helicopter zeroed in on the white pick-up truck stranded in the snow.

Officers say the family ended up in this predicament when the driver said he began to skid and pumped on the brakes with both feet to keep the truck from going over the edge.

Inside that truck were five children. For 6.5 hours they were stuck, disoriented and getting dehydrated.

The driver told dispatchers the children were cold and running out of food and water.

A CHP ground crew guided by the helicopter crew to the scene and helped the family
Make their way down an icy slope.

Realizing everyone was OK, officers helped the truck get un-stuck. A tow truck would arrive, and for one family who would fail to arrive at their destination, Thanksgiving would come a couple days late but right on time.

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