Source:  Toronto

In an amazing story of survival, a 55-year-old Ancaster woman has been found alive after wandering in the snow and sub-zero temperatures for nearly three days.

Donna Molnar went missing on Friday afternoon from a local market in a rural Ancaster, near Hamilton. Police believe she became disoriented with the heavy snow and forceful winds.

Ms. Molnar, a secretary at a west Hamilton high school, was found late this morning about 200 metres from her car. She was buried under two feet of snow and still conscious.

Hamilton Police Chief Brian Mullan said Ms. Molnar appeared to be encased in snow, “and that’s what we think played a major role in her retaining her own body heat and surviving for two-and-a-half days, really in some of the more extreme weather that we’ve seen this year,” he said.

Ms. Molnar is suffering from hypothermia and is in the intensive care unit at Hamilton General hospital. Her husband Dave and son Matthew are with her at the hospital.

After police found her abandoned vehicle on Saturday, about 20 officers started an extensive search. A spokeswoman for the Hamilton police said despite the fact that Ms. Molnar was so close to her car, the officers weren’t able to find her because of the deep snow. She was eventually located after a search and rescue dog named Ace picked up her scent about 75 metres away and barked.

Family and friends had almost given up hope, said Mark, a friend of the Molnar family who would not provide his last name.

“Obviously, we were very happy and very relived,” he said from the Molnar family’s Woodland Drive home. “ It had been three days and two snowstorms. It’s very difficult for a family to be optimistic under those circumstances. You hope for the best but prepare yourself for the worst. I really think that is a Christmas miracle that she was found alive.”

Mark said he wouldn’t comment on what would have caused Ms. Molnar to become disoriented. But described Ms. Molnar as an “exceptional person.”

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