Just after midnight on the morning of Wednesday 17th January, Galloway MRT were mobilised by Dumfries Galloway Police Division to the reports of a vehicle that had left the roadway between Glentrool and Straiton villages.
With growing concerns that the female driver had not returned home after reporting her intended route to family, Galloway MRT prepared to send Galloway Lima (Land Rover) and Galloway Control (4×4 Transit) to search the road.
On leaving our base we were also alerted to a vehicle off the A75. Galloway Control, a 4×4 Ambulance, diverted to that incident; which was shortly delt with before heading to join Galloway Lima.
With snow from 7 inches to 6 foot in places, the road was searched by vehicle and by foot. Snow drifts were searched by probing the snow, and with our avalanche transceiver ready we were prepared for the car to be buried.
However after 11 hours of searching the road and roadsides, and 19 hours since her car left the roadway, Rescue Flight 199 from HM Coastguard located the vehicle and airlifted the driver, who was alive yet extremely cold, and dropped her of at Straiton village for further assessment.
Galloway MRT have been placed on standby to attend similar incidents tonight as the Amber weather warning for snow and ice continues.
#FirstCalloutForGallowayControl #FarMoreThanJustMountains
Stay up to date with Dumfries & Galloway Virtual Operations Support Team, and of course feed them any information you collect during the snow to share with everyone else, however the advice is DO NOT TRAVEL TONIGHT.
