Mom Walks 26 Miles in Snowy Grand Canyon to Save Her Family: ‘This Is a Christmas Miracle’

A Pennsylvania mother is recovering in a Utah hospital this week after walking 26 miles in the snow over 36 hours in an attempt save her stranded family, according to reports.

Karen Klein was on vacation near the Grand Canyon—which is closed for winter—with her husband and 10-year-old son when the family’s car got stuck in the mud, the Associated Press reports. Klein offered to walk to get help, since her husband was recovering from an injury. But with the area abandoned, she walked for 26 miles before finally taking shelter in an abandoned rangers cabin.

Her husband and son walked in the other direction until they received cell phone service and called for help. A team of searchers on snowmobiles found Klein curled up in a bed in the cabin. “This is a Christmas miracle,” said Jim Driscoll, chief Sheriff’s deputy for Coconino County. “We were really beginning to think, especially with the snow coming in … we pulled out all the stops.”