Ex-NASA employee, 81, got stuck in a car for a week in the snow. How he survived

Jerry Jouret left his mountain house located in Big Pine, California on February 24 to return to his family who were residing in Gardnerville (Photo credit: facebook.com/Inyo County Sheriff's Office)

An 81-year-old man survived only on biscuits, croissants, and candy after he was stuck on a California highway for close to a week inside his car that got stuck in a snowbank.

Jerry Jouret, who is an ex-NASA employee, left his mountain house located in Big Pine, California on February 24 to return to his family in Nevada which, in good driving conditions, is a three-hour journey.

Jouret's grandson Christian told CNN that his grandfather veered onto a smaller road accidentally while driving back home, and his car got stuck near Gilbert Pass. He also said that Jouret was petite.

“He’s pretty small,” Christian added. “He doesn’t have a whole lot of meat on his bones.” '

Jouret survived by eating the snacks that were with him inside the car and occasionally, even opened his window to eat the snow.

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On February 28, the Inyo County Sherriff received a callout for a missing person. The team was slated to begin their search mission the following day, but was forced to delay the search because of safety concerns, caused by the storm, as per a Facebook post from the Sheriff's office.

A couple of days later, on March 2, a mobile phone ping that was identified by a California Highway Patrol assisted in narrowing the search area and once the weather permitted, helicopter crews were deployed.

“Within a short period of time, they identified a vehicle partially buried in snow. The CHP crew loaded the person onboard and transported him directly to Bishop Airport for transport to medical care…The subject was discharged from the hospital later that evening," the sheriff’s office said.

Christian revealed that during his stay in the hospital, Jouret showed no signs of hypothermia and following his discharge from the hospital, he returned home in a bus.