Woman stranded in desert for five days finally rescued

A woman who was stranded in a remote part of the Arizona desert for five days used her good sense and preparedness to make it out of the perilous situation alive.

Amber Van Hecke, 24, from Texas, was out sightseeing last week when her GPS system centered to a stretch of rugged road that isn't frequently travelled on.

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She then ran out of petrol and wasn't able to get a mobile phone signal.

Van Hecke survived for four days on the food and water she had packed and also made a sign reading: "Please stop, I'm out of gas, stuck here."

But no one passed by, so on day five she walked until she was able to make a call to rescuers but it cut out before she could tell them exactly where she was.

Guided by her description of the area and the note she'd left, an air rescue team found her up the road from where her car had stopped and air-lifted her to an area hospital.

Talking about the experience she said: "I guess I got to cross 'riding a helicopter' off of my bucket list."