The Latest: Chief Deputy: Family rescue ‘Christmas miracle’

JACOB LAKE, Ariz. – The Latest on the rescue of a stranded family (all times local):

3:20 p.m.

An Arizona sheriff’s official says it’s “a Christmas miracle” that searchers found a Pennsylvania woman and her family stranded in a snowy Arizona forest after their vehicle got stuck before a severe winter storm hit the area.

Coconino County Deputy Jim Driscoll says 46-year-old Karen Klein of Easton, Pennsylvania was found exhausted at a closed Grand Canyon National Park early Saturday morning after she hiked 27 miles.

Other searchers located her husband, Eric, and their 10-year-old son, Isaac, late Friday miles away at their rental vehicle.

It got stuck Thursday when the family relied on an online mapping service to find an alternative route to the North Rim, where park services and the access highway are closed for the winter.

Driscoll says Karen Klein tried to hike out of the forest by herself to get help because she’s a triathlete and marathon runner and the family agreed she was in the best shape to make the attempt.

She’s hospitalized and being treated for exposure to cold.

10 a.m.

Search crews have rescued a Pennsylvania family that got stranded in the snow on a forest road in northern Arizona while trying to reach the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, which is closed for winter.

The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office says searchers early Saturday morning located the mother who had walked approximately 26 miles since Thursday afternoon in search of help.

Other searchers rescued the father and the couple’s 10-year-old son Friday afternoon after they hiked to an area where they found cellphone service to call for help.

Authorities say Karen Klein was conscious and communicating when found but suffering from cold exposure, while Eric Klein and the couple’s son also are being treated for cold exposure, including frostbite.

Their hometown wasn’t immediately available.