no, it's not lit up. i just want to come home. >> a beautiful day for a drive to the mountains becomes a desperate struggle against all odds. >> up here in the jeep trying to stay warm. >> out of gas, out of time and nearly out of hope. >> nobody's ever going to find me here. >> she didn't know what was coming, so she wasn't prepared. >> but i can't walk out of this because i don't have the clothing. >> it's a story of heartbreak. >> i was in the hospital. my kids bawling. >> a beloved brother's refusal

to give up. >> so you just had a hunch? >> better than a hunch. >> and one woman's grit and determination. >> as soon as the sun comes out, i'm going to have to try to make it. >> strength this gutsy mom never even knew she had kept her going, but would it be enough it get her out alive? >> i want to see my babies and my mom. >> a haunting message. a harrowing journey. i'm lester holt, and this is "dateline: against all odds." here's andrea canning. >> reporter: the sierra nevada mountains, california, november 2012. >> i was so cold. i couldn't feel my feet anymore, and i couldn't get warm. >> reporter: a ferocious winter storm had trapped 46-year-old paula lane. no one knew where she was, is and she thought she was going to die. >> i begged to be taken. >> reporter: but she was desperate to see her children.

so she set out on a dangerous journey. >> i'm going to die, i'm going to die trying. >> reporter: and in case she didn't make it, she left a good-bye message. >> i'm so sorry. this has happened. >> reporter: the story began days earlier on thursday, november 29th. paula lane and her boyfriend, ready clifton, were doing chores here at his mom's place in a sacramento suburb called citrus heights. >> that morning, thursday machinerying, he got up on the roof and start repairing. >> reporter: she was in the garden pulling up green tomato plant. >> i love gardening, my hands in the dirt. that's another passion of mine. i love gardening. >> reporter: ready and paula were a freewheeling 40-something couple, adventurers both. she has 11-year-old twin boy. rod had three daughters of his own. they had been a couple for six months. >> i always felt safe with him. always. >> reporter: he was your protector.

>> i called him my superman. >> reporter: on this november day they were planning to drive to paula's place in gardnerville, nav na, for dinner, a 2 1/2-hour drive through the mountains. before they left, paula called her mom whom she lived with. she grabbed a bag of those green tomatoes, and they were ready to go. it was midafternoon. how was the weather that day? >> it was clear. when we left. >> reporter: a beautiful day? >> yeah. absolutely, it was. >> reporter: both paula and rod were dressed for late fall, in jeans and light jackets. it was almost 60 degrees that day. >> i had on my cat tennis shoe which are leather. >> reporter: they were driving ready's jeep cherokee, a 1989 model he had just acquired. they drove through the mountains and made an impromptu stop about 25 miles from paula's place. while they were there, she picked up some rock and put them in her pocket. >> i'm a rock hound. i love rocks.

and everywhere i go usually i pick up a couple. >> reporter: paula never dreamt how important those rocks would become. their next stop was at the intersection of two main highways. this place. it's called a yurt. >> a girl rents out cross-country skis. >> reporter: they decided to check it out, so they pulled in, poked around and then drove to a mountain road they knew well. the road had a gate across it and a sign saying "closed." >> rod says, i want to go test out the jeep in deep snow. i said, well, no, you can't. the gate's closed. and he sayses, well, yes, we can. i said there's going to be a big fine. i don't think this is going to be a good idea. >> reporter: but she is rod prevailed, took the trees in the tree in a wide arc and regained the ride higher up. >> it was enough for me to say, i don't think we should do this. and because i trusted him so much, if i would have said rod,

no, he would have said, okay. he would have. >> reporter: they both knew this mountain road. there's a lake at the end about six miles away called burnside lake. they had camped there this the summer with paula's boys. and anyway, it was a kick. four-wheeling new the snow. it's a popular activity in these parts especially in the back country. but then paula wanted it turn around, and rod wanted to keep twg. >> i said, well, how about let's turn around now, you know. well, this isn't a good place to turn around. so we kept going. now we might as well go all the way to the end. >> reporter: were you having a twood time? >> kind of and kind of not. >> reporter: they made it to burnside lake around 7:00 that evening. the snow here was deep. it was cold. very cold. and it was here that things went terribly wrong. >> we went to do a three-point turn, and we went reverse and forward, it was an absolute drop

thug. it was like uh-oh. s he said, that's okay. we'll get out of this. we'll rock it. we'll do whatever. >> reporter: the jeep's left front tire was wedged in a deep rut. they did everything they could to free it, but nothing worked. and they couldn't call for help. there was no cell phone service. back at home, paula's mom, dolores, "d" for short wasn't too worried when they didn't show up. it was the fact they didn't call that surprised her. >> paula was good about calling and letting us know where she was or what her time schedule was. >> reporter: "d" kept things normal that night with paula's 11-year-old twins, sam and hayden. she told them their mom was on their way home, but time dragged. >> rod's mom called me later that thursday evening. she said, have you heard from the kids? and i said no. she said, well, i haven't either. >> reporter: alexius is rod's younger sister. she got a call from her mom that night, too. >> and it was, have you heard

anything from your brother yet? am i supposed to hear something from my brother? >> reporter: you didn't think anything of it? >> didn't think anything of it, nothing. >> reporter: by 11:00 that night after spending four hours trying to get the jeep free, paula was exhausted. >> get in the jeep. let's snuggle up, get warm and go at this again in the morning. >> reporter: that was a major decision to say,ware going to spend the night here. >> have to. we had to. >> reporter: so you have almost no gas? >> correct. >> reporter: no water? >> correct. >> reporter: no boots? >> correct. >> reporter: no warm clothes? >> correct. >> reporter: and barely any food? >> correct. >> reporter: they huddled together in the back of the jeep, wet and tired and freezing cold. it was add, and it was about to get worse. >> let's talk about the timing of these three storm. >> reporter: there were storms on the way. severe storm. paula and rod didn't have a clue. how did you not know about the storm? you hadn't listened to the radio or tv?

>> no. and that's not like me, but i figured he must have or just -- it was silly. >> reporter: the snow started falling overnight. and temperatures fell below freezing. paula kept telling herself to be positive, but she remembers the words she blurted out to rod as the storm gathered force around them. >> i said, tell them that night i didn't want to die. >> by the next day, the couple faced a terrifying choice. stay trapped in the jeep and hope for a rescue or head out into the storm and struggle for miles through four feet of snow. >> we kissed each other and said we loved

as a winter storm howled around them, paula lane and her

boyfriend, rod clifton, spent a frigid nate trapped in their jeep in the sierra nevada mountains. when friday morning came, there was a lull in the storm. they tried again to pull the jeep out. again, they had no luck. >> and i said, you know, one of us needs to try to get out. >> reporter: she knew they were so isolated that no one would find them, if anyone was even looking. rod medley volunteered to go. >> when he said, paula, i'm leaving, what did you say to him? >> well, i was twg to go because i had the better clothing, i thought, and he didn't. he says, no, no, i'm going to go. >> reporter: paula says she tried to get him to wait, but he wouldn't. so she prepared him. it was a six-mile trek out, and the snow was waist deep in places. she couldn't do much about his wet motorcycle pants, but she could about his shoes. >> he had little tiny tennis shoes on. like beat shoes. i said, well, let me get yur

feat wrapped up in this plastic bag i cut this-put around his feet, taped it up and then put my sock over the top of that. >> reporter: she gave him her ski mask to cover his face, and he was ready. >> he was looking down for a long time. and then he looked at me, and we kissed each other and said we loved each other. and it's almost like he knew, too. >> reporter: knew what? >> that it would probably be the last tame we ever saw each other. >> reporter: she watched him walk away. a big guy fighting to get through the snow. she was still watching when a gust of snow blew up, whiting him out. >> i wish i would have begged him to stay. >> reporter: by now two families were uneasy, calling each other. alexius, rod's sister. >> well, have you heard anything

yet? no, i haven't heard anything yet. >> reporter: that afternoon "d"'s uneasiness turned into outright fear. the boys came home from school and said, is mom here in then my heart dropped. i said no, we haven't heard from them yet. >> reporter: finally rod's mom couldn't take it anymore. late friday afternoon, lois clifton filed a missing persons report for rod and paula in california. >> it was horrible. wondering. knowing that there was a snowstorm. >> reporter: that night "d" called her local sheriff's department in nevada. paula's sons in their ed room were listening. >> when we first knew she was missing, grandma called and she's, like, i would like to report a missing person. she didn't know we were awake, so we heard that whole conversation. >> reporter: were you worried? >> yeah. >> reporter: did you think that maybe something bad had happened to her? >> yeah. >> yeah. >> reporter: it was becoming clear to "d" that the whole family needed to pull together

if they were ever going to find the missing couple. she called her son, gary. after all, he had always watched over his little sister. >> i look out for her. you know, it's kind of hard to keep an eye on that girl. >> reporter: gary knew paula had taken off in the past without telling anyone where she was going. but "d" told him this time was different. >> mom made sure that i was aware that it was different, you know. that's the call that i got. straight from the boss. >> reporter: back at burnside lake, paula dozed, waiting for rod's return. but as the hours passed, the storm got worse. the temperature dropped. snow wouldn't let up, and rod was out there somewhere. >> he was walking out into the worst of it. >> reporter: marc feinen is the chief meteorologist at sacramento's kcra-tv. >> if he was trying it make that seven-mile trip down into it, i don't know how he could have done that. >> reporter: at 11:00 p.m., paula woke up scared, upset. rod had told her he'd be back in

a couple of hours, but he had been gone 14. >> i just knew something happened. something not good. >> reporter: where did your mind go at that point? >> i wanted it help him. all i could think of, i can't even go help him. >> reporter: paula ran the car to get warm, using the last of the gas. she had never felt so alone. she didn't think anyone would be looking for them. that night she started what became a ritual. >> i would say out loud, mom, sam, hayden, burnside lake. burnside like. i would say it out loud. burnside lake. >> reporter: tell them where you were. >> yes. >> reporter: the same night as hayden was lying this bed watching tv, the strangest thing happened. >> a tv show came on, burnside lake, tours now. >> reporter: hayden remembered the lake from camping trip. so you saw the commercial, and that made you think maybe that's

where they are? >> yeah. then i came out and told grandma. >> reporter: it "d" it was as if he had heard his mom. so she called her local sheriff's office to suggest a search of burnside lake. >> they've camped back in there several times. >> okay. >> just in case they might have -- >> sure. -- >> gotten stuck or the car quit working on them. >> reporter: an alpine county sheriff's official was dispatched to look. he reported back to his boss. >> burnside lake is closed and the road is snowed in. >> they call and told me they couldn't go in there. because of the locked gate and the snow. >> reporter: so tu just think, okay? >> i figured they knew what they were talking about, you any. i didn't push it. that's a horrible regret. not saying you guys have got to go down there. >> reporter: that night paula wasn't just cold and lonely and scared. she was grieving.

you didn't know what happen to rod, obviously, but -- >> i knew. >> reporter: you knew. >> because of how wicked the storm got. >> reporter: and the weather was about to get even worse, and paula became convinced she'd never make it out alive. >> i want to see my babies and my mom. ♪ ♪ turn around ♪ every now and then i get a little bit hungry ♪ ♪ and there's nothing really good around ♪ ♪ turn around ♪ every now and then i get a little bit tired ♪ ♪ of living off the taste of the air ♪ ♪ turn around, barry ♪ i finally found the right snack ♪ ♪ with our new, improved peanut butter chewy bars.

>> reporter: on saturday, december 1st, paula woke up about 6:00 a.m. she had survived a second night in the wild, but she was worried sick about her boyfriend, ready, who had hiked out for help the day before. >> we had no clue what was coming how hard it would be. to try to traipse out of there. >> reporter: things were grim in the jeep. paula was living on one green

tomato a day, eating any it stay hydrated and drawing on every ounce of ingenuity she possessed it stay warm. remember those rocks she had picked up a lifetime ago? she needed them now. >> i look under the seat, and there was a budweiser can, an empty one, and we had some motor oil. and rod had his folder with his resume in it. i wadded up some little piece of paper, put a couple drops of oil in there, put the rocks in there, caught them on fire and a couple time to the them hot enough and stuck them in the pocket of my inner jacket. >> reporter: by now she was wearing three pairs of jeans, three jacket and sock she had made from masking tape and tissue. >> i had no more masking tape. i had no more -- >> reporter: you were running out of options. >> so i had to preserve the socks that i had made. >> reporter: that day as rain

lashed the lower elevations, searchers went out looking for the missing couple, checking highways in two states, callal and nevada. lois, rob's mom, searched, too, and drove right by the road paula and rod had taken. >> i got 288 and 89, and i looked up the hill and i said, oh, that's where they went camping. and there was no sign of them. >> reporter: no one could locate the missing jeep. it was torture for the families. linta hathaway is paula's older sister. >> i told my husband, i said, i've got to go be with my mom. >> they told us that they had the search and rescue out, and they had to wait for the storm to pass before they could use the helicopters. >> reporter: at burnside lake, paula had a brief blazing moment of hope. she caught a glimpse of the sun, the first in two day. she gathered her things as fast as she could, frantic to make a break for it. but then the storm came roaring back. >> and i just had to keep

telling myself, it's for the to break. got to break. when things are going through your mind, you know, number's going to find you back here. you'll freeze to death in this jeep. >> reporter: it must be very tempting to want to just go. >> yeah, because you're terrified. >> reporter: saturday night the storm raged stronger than ever. meteorologist mark finen. >> the winds were howling with that one. if we saw the strongest winds up here, it was late saturday night, early saturday morning. >> reporter: gusts of wind slammed into the jeep, rocking it violently. there was no way paula could sleep, no way to stay warm. that was the night her dreams bow gan. and they were horrible. >> i was right by the gate, and i was calling 911, somebody help me. well, we are 911. well, can you come in here is and get me? no. the gate's closed, and we're not allowed to come on that side. >> reporter: so in your dreams, there's help, but they won't come and get you? >> yeah. yeah. it was just, like, right there. right there.

>> reporter: by day three, she was spent, cold and frightened and at her wit's end. >> it is now sunday morning, and the snow has not let up. it's about 6 1/2 feet deep, i think. i'm held up here this the jeep. >> reporter: she survived so far on guts and green tomatoes. but she knew she couldn't hold out much longer. sitting in the jeep, she used the last of the battery in her camera to make a farewell video for her family. >> i've eaten as much snow as i can remember to. i've tried to stay warm. i just want to come home. rod left friday morning. today is sunday. he left on friday morning to go get help but didn't come back. i don't know what happened to him. i don't know if he got hypothermia or frostbite or if

some critter got him. he didn't come back. i feel so bad. i trayed to insist on him waiting to go out. i didn't want him to go out. >> reporter: and then came the most heartbreaking moment of all. >> i just want to see my baby and my mom. i'm so sorry this has happened. >> i just wadidn't want it to tn out the way it did. you can obviously see that i thought i was going to die. coming up, on the fourth morning, paula would make a faithful decision. nothing could have prepared her for the consequences. >> you know, this is it. this is how it's going.

>> reporter: paula lane had started her third day in the sierra nevada mountains in tears, recording that farewell video for her family. >> i'm so sorry this has happened. >> reporter: but paula wasn't leaving the jeep any time soon. the winds were especially fierce that morning, gusting up to 80 miles an hour. >> i can't see how she could

have looked out the window of the jeep and thought, oh, now is a good time to go. anytime during the day sunday. >> reporter: paula was holed up in the back seat with no way to know that search team were out looking for her. whenever the weather allowed it. the same day paula's brother, gary, and a friend conducted their own search. >> we were stopping at restaurant and bars and places and asking, had they seen them? >> reporter: paula spent another night sleeping fitfully. sunday turn into monday, day four. she woke up early and kicked her way out of the jeep, hechecked e sky and couldn't believe what she saw. the storm was over. finally. >> it was warm outside of the jeep. that was a no-brainer, get the heck out of here. >> reporter: she got back into the jeep and packed her backpack. >> i had new knife, my flashlight, my scissors, my ibuprofen and my tomatoes, of course, the couple i had left.

>> reporter: you're like the macgyver of the mountain. she put on tape and tissue and said good-bye to the jeep. >> kicked my way out and headed off. >> reporter: on you said i'm going for it? >> yeah. i'm getting out of here. maybe i can find rod and still save him and kind of lost the hope of that happening real quick. >> reporter: why? she was sinking in snow that came up to her thighs in places. some four feet of fresh snow had fallen while she was stranded in the jeep. >> i was crawling. >> reporter: week after her ordeal, "dateline" took paula back to burnside lake. she showed us how she crawled to get through the deep snow. >> but, you know, i'd just go like that. like that. and you know, i looked down, and i started following the trail and just keep going. and whenever i'd stop to eat some snow and rest, i would always whistle, yell.

>> reporter: that's a good whistle. but she was deteriorating out there on her own. her body was failing her. she started to vomit blood. she continued down the road, but her progress was painfully slow. what gave you the strength to keep going? >> i wanted to see my baby. you've seen "finding nemo." ♪ just keep crawling just keep crawling ♪ i was saying it out loud. >> reporter: by monday evening she was beyond tired. she continued to throw up blood violently. she couldn't feel her fet, her hands, and she couldn't stop shaking. she had one tomato left, and she couldn't bear to eat it. she rested against a tree and finally hit her breaking point. >> i at that point laid there and said, please forgive me, but please take me now. i thought about taking off my clothes just to get it done

faster. >> reporter: because you had been so strong up to this point. what changed? >> i knew that i hadn't made it very far. nobody was looking for me out there. you know, this was it. this was how i'm going. >> reporter: she crawled over to a mound in the snow. turns out it was a hollow tree, lying on the ground. it didn't take her long it figure out that she had just discovered a refuge. >> if you look down in there, you can see how far it goes. >> reporter: paula climbed inside, leaving only her face exposed. she soon discovered she was shacked up with a nest of spiders, and those spiders were biting her. she was too exhausted to care. she fell asleep in the stump, not knowing or caring if she ever woke up again. >> i want to go home. >> reporter: by now, the story of the missing couple had hit the local news. >> i ache.

>> reporter: both families were losing hope. all the searches including their own had failed. paula's mom, "d" would lie awake at night and think the worst. >> it they go off a cliff? maybe they were carjacked. then i'd turn the tv on hoping there would be something there. >> reporter: what was it like for you, linda, the waiting? >> it's very hard because there's no sign, in, you know, and nobody coming to say, hey, we haven't found a car. >> reporter: paula's twins dealt with it their way. >> my one friend, daniel, his dad is a snowplowman. so i told him, because he knows what our mom look like. i told him, tell your dad, see if he can find our mom. >> reporter: but a snowplowman would never have found their mom, inside a tree stump in the unforgiving sierra. paula spent the whole day tuesday in her stump, mostly sleeping. on wednesday, day six, she knew that after two nights and a day in the stump, it was time to go.

>> i thought, well, you know what? i don't want to go back in this thing. it was just like an overwhelming feeling like none other. >> reporter: so she set out again, crawling, pushing her backpack in front of her, following the road. and soon she made a heartbreaking discovery. >> and i just crawled right up on him. right there. >> reporter: it was rod, her superman, lying on his back in the middle of the road with his arms crossed. and she says a smile on his face. >> and i knew he wasn't alive because there was just a little bit of snow across his neck and cross half of his mouth right here. >> reporter: she knelt and cried and said good-bye. >> i said thank you for trying to save my life. >> reporter: do you think rod had a moment like you, given the way you found him that he had said it's my time now? >> yeah. >> reporter: i'm ready?

>> and i'm going to not go out suffering. >> reporter: did seeing rod, for some reason, give you strength to go on? >> oh, yeah. >> reporter: even though he didn't make it? >> oh, yeah. >> reporter: why did that give you strength? >> because one of us had to make it out for our kids. i used to tell them, his daughters, and i needed to be there for my son. >> reporter: she spent half an hour kneeling by his body. and then she says it was time to go. >> i had no doubt i was getting out of there, no matter what it took. i was going to die trying. coming up, while paula struggles it get out, her family gets a bizarre clue from thousands of miles away. >> i knew she was there. i knew it was her. i want you to know stuff i want you to be kind. i want you to be smart. super smart.

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we live in an uber connected, hyper documented, social media savvy and totally technologically enhanced world. and it's important for you to be the first to talk with your kids about the internet. you'll help them be responsible online... the more you know. >> reporter: by wednesday, december 5th, paula's sixth day this the wild, gary lane had become convinced that his sister and rod were at burnside lake. and what was it about burnside lake? >> they had disappeared up there one time before. that's where they were. >> reporter: so you just had a hunch? >> it would be better than a hunch, isn't it? >> reporter: gary and his puddy

decided they had to go and check out burnside lake themselves and do it their way. >> i remember you said you knew in your heart that she was there. >> that's true. >> reporter: but they ran into trouble immediately. problems with their jeep. as ryan worked on it, gary spted a state-owned front loader in a nearby shed. >> i know how it drive that, i said. >> he goes, ryan, there's a loader in there. >> reporter: was it locked up? >> no, it wasn't lock up. >> reporter: so it was just there for the taking? >> no, it wasn't there for the taking. >> reporter: for your purposes? gary is a maverick, so borrowing the loader, a vehicle like this one, wasn't a stretch. plus gary had driven tanks in the army. he had in trouble getting the big machine moving, and it went a short distance, but then he couldn't change gears. >> so the tractor wouldn't go any farther. and it was getting dark. and that's when i said, well, we're going to have to find another way. we're going to have to do something different. >> reporter: but they were cold

and tire. they decided to go back to "d's" place, never guessing what would happen next. >> i'm not sure if i was asleep, but it was so real. >> reporter: tamara small would give them a lead, the only one they had. although it seemed bizarre at the time, tamara lives across the country near albany, new york. growing up she loved her cool aunt paula. when she heard paula was missing, tamara couldn't stop worrying. one night was especially bad. >> i was up all night that night, you know, crying and racking may brain. >> reporter: she finally went to bed, and perhaps the lane family bond was at work that night because suddenly tamara says she felt her aunt paula in the room. >> all of a sudden i got this overwhelming sensation of warmth. i felt like she was right next to my nightstand. i couldn't see her, couldn't hear her. i knew she was there. that's when i started dreaming about her being in a big body of

water, stranded. i couldn't really see her, but i knew it was her. >> reporter: but during the dream, she was alive? >> very much alive. very much alive. >> reporter: tamara wanted an explanation. so she decided to go to a psychic. >> she couldn't see, you know, if anybody was dead or alive. she did say that she saw a blue vehicle and water. >> reporter: the psychic was right about one thing. rod's jeep was dark blue. tamara called her dad. what did you tell your father about this dream? >> i said, dad, this is a little dream that i had, but i really have this strong instinct that you need to look near water. >> reporter: her dad immediately called fwarry who had just returned from the failed attempt to go up to burnside lake. >> she described that place to a "t" going in there. and then she described the jeep. >> reporter: you must have been thinking, come on. psychic? >> you know, i had nothing else to grasp for, to point me in the right direction, but that was enough, you know. >> reporter: but his mom didn't want him to go back that night.

"d" feared she might lose another child. >> i said, fwgary, it's dark. it's late. wait till tomorrow, you can see what you're doing. >> reporter: what did gary say to you? >> i'm going, mom. >> reporter: and he did. he and brian headed back to burnside road. but linda and "d" weren't holding out hope they'd be any more successful this time, so she told paula's boys their mom might not return. sam still chokes up at the thought. >> our grandma is in her last years, she can't take care of us. so who are we going to go to? i mean, our mom -- she hasn't taught us everything yet. >> reporter: little did they know the drama that was playing out just 20 miles away on the side of a mountain because this time gary managed to get the loader working. and he took it up burnside road. it was tough going. >> the? i was getting deep. and the tractor wouldn't go

anymore. i was picking it up. scooping it up. >> reporter: incredible as it sounds, gary was guided by the tracks rod's jeep had left six day before, still visible even after the storm. did you see -- catch a glimpse of the tracks first? >> four or five foot of snow, there's two tracks going, follow me, boys. i mean, i couldn't have not followed them if i try p. >> reporter: as gary was maneuvering up the road, paula was crawling down. she remembers it began to rain about 7:00 that night. >> i started getting really scared because the coat i had on wasn't water resistant. and i curled up into a ball, and i had a good cry. >> reporter: and then miraculously, she heard noises. >> i heard the tractor. and then pretty soon i see lights. i'm, like, i'm near the road. oh, my god! i'm near the road! i can make it! yea! you know. and i'm screaming and whistling. >> reporter: gary taught her that whistle when they were

kids, but he didn't hear her at first. not until he turned the tractor off. then he knew. >> that's her, you know. i knew it was her. >> reporter: he got the big machine moving again and headed her way. >> i heard the tractor start again. i'm, like, oh, god. >> reporter: have you ever felt such joy in your whole life? >> no, never. coming up, emotions catch up with paula's kids who came so close to losing their mom to the mountains. >> that would have just been so bad. >> and allah answers those who say she took too many chances. >> you didn't feel reckless? so what can i get you? we'll take something tasty and healthy. ♪ ♪ if you wanna go and fly with me ♪ ♪ it's buzz the bee on your tv ♪

♪ oh how did i get this way? ♪ hey! must be the honey! ♪ there's a party going on in your cereal bowl ♪ ♪ o's can help lower cholesterol ♪ ♪ oh why does it taste so great? ♪ ♪ hey! must be the honey! ♪ ♪ hey! must be the honey! ♪ hey! must be the honey!

after six days in the wilderness, paula lane finally heard signs of life. she kept move, propelling herself forward, separate to reach them, whoever they were. >> she came out of nowhere and was in the middle of the road. o of nowhere, she lands there. >> reporter: gary's friend brian picked her up and bundled her into dry clothes. >> she was saying she was going to lose her feet. she was worried about that. >> reporter: but she still had no idea who was driving the tractor. and then she heard a voice asking, "where's rod?" >> and i said, he's dead. and i hear, "what? i said, it's gary. i think i said his name a million times.

gary, gary, gary! i said it a million time. and he pointed at me. he said, "i've got you. i've got you. i knew you were here." >> i don't know. i was pretty happy. that was probably more out of control, too. >> reporter: somehow they got into the loader's bucket and rode down the hill. a short time later gary called home. paula's sister, linda, picked up the phone. >> he said, "i have her. i have her." she put the phone a little away from her ear, and we could hear him say that he found her. we came unglued. >> aunt linda was screaming and yelling. when he finallied those words, everybody just dropped everything. >> reporter: gary took paula to this resort nearby, and she managed it eat a few mouthfuls of soup. when gary came riding in on his horse, in this case, a caltrans tractor, you pretty much only had hour left it live. >> i wouldn't have made it that night. let's put it that way.

i was still four miles away from the road. i would have never made it. >> reporter: she was whisked away by ambulance to this carson city hospital and treated for mild frostbite on her feet. doctors called her a lucky woman. >> she really looked pretty good, i thought. as soon as the boys walked in, she just beamed. >> they said you survived off of tomatoes. >> and watermelon. >> no, just tomatoes. i wish it was watermelon. i don't think i'd be here without those. i know i wouldn't be here if it weren't for you guys, green toe tate mate toes and uncle gary. look up the word "joy" in the dictionary, and you'll see my face. i mean, it was what i lived for. >> reporter: it was, they all agreed, a miracle, but both families mourned rod's death. his mother, lois, got the bad news in a phone call from gary. >> gary said, "i'm sorry, but rod's dead." and i pulled over to the side of

the road and just lost it. >> reporter: alexius, rod's sister, got word at the hospital. >> and i just fell to the floor in the hospital. my kids bawling. >> reporter: and back on the mountain with "dateline," paula remembered her superman. >> one of the hardest things i would imagine about this spot is that this is the last time we saw rod alive. do you think about that now that you're back? >> huh-uh. i don't want to think p the day i saw him walking away. i want to think about him being okay. >> reporter: a report from the alpine county sheriff's department later showed rod died of hypothermia. but it also revealed he had methamphetamine and thc, the active ingredient in pot, in his body. paula insists they weren't doing drug together during their ordeal.

she knows there are critics out there, people who have accused the couple of being reckless. she readily cops it making a mistake but nothing more. >> i can tell you this. that if it was an area that we had never been to, i don't think you would have ever done that. but because we know it so well, there was an element of comfortableness. >> reporter: was there an element of recklessness or -- >> no, no. >> reporter: you didn't feel reckless? >> no. not at all. >> reporter: paula's boys still think about rod's death and how close they came to losing their mother. >> if mom was up there, too, that would have just been so bad. >> it would have been really sad that they wouere both gone, but thank god she wasn't up there, too. >> reporter: how lucky do you feel to have your mom with you every day? >> very lucky. >> reporter: paula lane now enjoys family and friends as never before. and she wants to make those six

days in the wilderness count, to be a better mother, daughter and sister. to live her life differently. >> it's a second chance. to be whole again because i was in such a dark spot. a second chance. >> reporter: so who is the paula going forward? >> i just want to have a normal, happy life. see my kids grow up and be successful. you know, every day above ground's a good day. >> reporter: you came out here for closure. do you have it? >> i think so. i think so. it was our fault, in the mother nature's. yeah, i just -- i'm okay.

>> that's all for now. i'm lester holt. thanks for joining us. >> let it be known this is a problem and it's something i will get fixed. >> good evening. it's a game changer for the 49ers. aldon smith took to the field today, but this is the last you'll see of him for a while. he's take an indefinite leave of absence. hello, henry. >> hello. two days after being arrested on suspicion of dui, also don