Stranded Family Found Alive -- Couple, Infant In Cave; Man Hiked 40 Miles

CEDARVILLE, Calif. - A California couple and their infant son missing for a week were found alive yesterday in a remote corner of northwest Nevada after being stranded in snow and freezing weather and seeking refuge in a cliffside cave.

"All three of them appear to be in remarkably good condition," said Diane Robertson, a spokeswoman for the California Highway Patrol.

Army Pfc. James Daniel Stolpa, 21, wandered into Vya, Nev., a high-desert hamlet 20 miles east of here, and was found in an incoherent state by a road crew about 11 a.m., authorities said. Stolpa had hiked 40 miles to reach the outpost, having left his family two days earlier in the cave in a snowy, rocky sheep pasture known as Hell's Canyon.

Jennifer Stolpa, 20, and their 5-month-old son, Clayton, were discovered in the cave about 5:20 p.m. by rescuers who were guided to the site by Stolpa. Authorities said Stolpa identified landmarks and terrain by radio from Cedarville, where he was treated briefly at a hospital and then was taken by ambulance to a rescue command post.

The baby was reported in good condition, having survived the ordeal by nursing, while Stolpa and his wife - who was wearing thin socks and tennis shoes - suffered frostbite and mild hypothermia, authorities said. The family had a sleeping bag and extra clothing but no food or water in the cave, and the couple had to eat snow to survive, authorities said.

"It is a good thing he had the common sense to put his wife and baby in that cave," said Modoc County, Calif., Sheriff Bruce Mix, whose department was among five law-enforcement agencies in two states involved in the rescue. "If he hadn't, they would probably be dead. I doubt they could have survived the trek into Vya."

After the rescues, the family was taken by snow tractor to the hospital in Cedarville, about a two-hour trip through deep snow covering gravel roads. Stolpa, a satellite equipment repairman at Camp Roberts, Calif., told authorities that the family's Dodge pickup truck equipped with an aluminum shell became mired in deep snowdrifts in Humboldt County, Nev., sometime last week en route to Pocatello, Idaho, where they were to attend Stolpa's grandmother's funeral.

Authorities did not know how long the family stayed with the disabled vehicle, but early Sunday, with the baby bundled in their arms, the couple began walking eastward on a snow-covered road in hopes of reaching Nevada Route 140.

About four miles from their disabled truck, the family came upon Hell Creek, an off-road trail, which they followed for 12 miles to Hell's Canyon and the cliffside cave.

"This guy is in the Armed Forces and I am assuming he had some training," said Don Vetter, a Washoe County public-affairs officer. "He had a guardian angel and was living right. This area is brutal."

A friend said the Stolpas had packed fruitcake, cookies and vitamins when they set out on Dec. 29, but authorities said they had no food or water left when they became stranded.

The Stolpas left on their trip just as a severe storm struck the Sierra Nevada and northern Nevada, eventually dumping up to nine feet of snow on their intended route. Temperatures in the area have ranged from a low of minus 4 degrees to a high of 42.