Woman, 84, rescued after car plunges into ravine

TROUTDALE, Ore. — An 84-year-old woman has an amazing rescue story to tell, after her car plunged down a 150-foot embankment into a creekbed late Tuesday night in rural Multnomah County.

Alva Mae Hurst was not hurt, but hers was a difficult rescue for first-responders.

Hurst's car went off the road in a heavily wooded area east of Gresham. When her vehicle finally stopped rolling, Hurst said it was covered with bushes. So she reached down, picked up her cellphone and called her sister.

Her sister told her to call 911. That's what she did next, but she was lost so she could not give them a location. She thought she was near Beaverton. Turns out, she was in Troutdale.

Dispatchers had her honk her horn and flash her headlights as they used the GPS on her phone to track down her location and guide rescuers to her.

Searchers said if the woman had not called for help, it could have taken them a long time to find her.

"Had she not had a cellphone, I don't know how long it would have been until she was found," said Jason McGowan of the Gresham Fire Department. "There was no way to see her from the road where she went off the ravine."

Firefighters had to climb down at least 150 feet through rough and steep terrain to get to the car. They used ropes and ladders to pull the woman to safety.