. >> reporter: a ferocious winter storm had had trapped 46-year-old paula lane. no one knew where she was 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. >> if 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 and her boyfriend were doing chores at his mom's place in a sacramento suburb called citrus heights. >> that morning, thursday morning, he got up on the roof and started repairing. >> reporter: she was in the garden pulling up green tomato plants. >> i was enjoying doing that. i love gardening. i love having my hands in the dirt. that's another passion of mine. i just love gardening. >> reporter: rod and paula were a free-wheeling 40-something couple. adventurers both. she had 11-year-old twin boys. rod had three daughters of his own. they'd been a couple for six months. >> i