A 75-year-old Texas grandmother who crashed into a rural ravine Friday morning slept with her head on a rock and used her T-shirt to soak up drinking water over the next two days until she was rescued Sunday.
"Sometimes you just do what you have to do to survive," said Wanda Mobley from her hospital bed in Wichita Falls.
Mobley left her home in Brownwood, Texas, Friday morning for a family reunion in McAlister, Oklahoma. It wasn't a route with which she was familiar. She said she remembers a small animal running in front of her car along U.S. Highway 183 near Seymour. When she swerved to miss it, she lost control of her Chevy Cruze and ended up about 150 feet away from the main road in a remote area, about two miles from the nearest home.
"I said, 'Lord, if you want me, take me now. Don't make me sit down here and suffer.' And somehow, I got this sensation that I was going to be there three days," Mobley said.
She tried calling 911 but said her phone was out of range. Her phone's battery later died.
A severe back injury left her barely able to move. With the temperature rising inside the car, Mobley said she ripped the rear-view mirror off the windshield and used it to smash her way out of the car.
For the next two nights, she laid with her head on a rock. She was in pain with no food. She managed to stay hydrated by drinking some Sprite she happened to have in the car. She said at one point, she took her shirt off and used it to soak up dirty water to drink.
Meanwhile, her family began a desperate search. Her grandson-in-law, Wesley Finley, said he tried to get police to issue a Silver Alert for Mobley but said police could not do that because she was "of sound body and mind."
Finley said family members were finally able to convince police to ping Mobley's cell phone, which ultimately led them to her location.
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Finley said a family member noticed a yellow road sign that had been knocked down. They then worked their way into the remote area where they found Mobley and her car.
Armed with faith and a lifetime of Girl Scouts experience, Mobley said she was unshaken and never panicked.
"No, because I knew someone was going to be there on that third day to get me. I don't know how I knew, but I did. I think it's the Lord's work. No two ways about it. He took care of me when I was down there," Mobley said.
Later this week Mobley said she will be taken to a facility in Fort Worth to be treated for her back injury and burns to her arms.
She is expected to make a full recovery, and when asked about her biggest concern, Mobley said she now has to buy a new car and is upset because she's going to have to buy what she calls a "granny" car.
