Utah Man Says he Survived 2 Days in Snowy Idaho Countryside

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah man says he survived two days stranded in his car without food in an isolated part of Idaho by building a fire in an abandoned farmhouse.

Paul Meiling told The Deseret News on Wednesday that he got stuck after driving down a snowy side road on the way home from delivering books to Idaho State University in Pocatello.

The 77-year-old from West Jordan, Utah, was reported missing Monday. Meiling says he stayed warm in the farmhouse and then walked Wednesday morning until he got cellphone reception to call his son.

Family members say he was dehydrated but otherwise healthy when he was found near Arimo, Idaho. Bannock County, Idaho, Sheriff Lorin Nielsen told media that Meiling was lucky but warned people to heed forecasts of storms in the mountains.