THUNDER BAY, ON – January 1, 2017, at approximately 6:40 pm officers from the Thunder Bay Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) received a call for police assistance.

A family, (two adults and two children), were travelling east bound, to Ottawa, on Highway 11/17 in the Municipality of Shuniah. They were utilizing a Web Map Service (WMS) that had instructed them to proceed onto Highway 527.

The WMS directed the driver to proceed northbound on Highway 527 and then proceed onto the Dorion Cut Off Road. The driver proceeded to follow the instruction provided by the WMS and drove onto the Dorion Cut Off Road.  The road was snow covered and the road was not plowed. Eventually the vehicle they were driving, a Toyota Venza, became stuck in the snow. This occurred at approximately 12:00 pm.

The family had very little cell phone signal and texted their family, in Ottawa, for assistance. The family in Ottawa contacted a local tow truck company to assist, but they were unable to locate the vehicle. A second tow truck company was dispatched, attempted to locate the vehicle but could not due to the unplowed, snow covered road. The tow truck operators then proceeded to walk for a half hour in search of the vehicle but still were unable to locate the vehicle.

OPP officers were contacted and at approximately 9:50 pm, officers located the family approximately 25 kilometers from Highway 527 on the Dorion Cut Off Road.  The family was found to be in good health but undoubtedly there could have been a very different outcome if they had not been located, as the reported temperature that evening was -25 degrees Celsius.