Massachusetts Soldiers Save Woman Stranded in N.J. Forest

JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, NJ – A casual Saturday drive turned into a nightmare for Jeannette Haskins after she found herself stuck on an old, sandy road in the Pinelands of New Jersey with minimal cell phone reception.

The 87-year-old woman had been driving along Route 539 in New Jersey when she took a wrong turn and landed on a dirt road that gradually devolved into sand.

With her tires stuck, and cell phone service unreliable, Haskins opened her doors and put the sunshade in her windshield while she hoped for help.

She was without food and drank rainwater from passing thunderstorms until Monday afternoon, when Staff Sgt. Dana Francis and Sgt. Tommy Coppola of the Massachusetts Army National Guard found her slumped in her backseat during a scouting mission. Together, along with Spc. John Shively and Pfc. Aaron Amardey-Wellington, they gave Haskins water and oxygen until she could be taken to a nearby hospital.

Two days later, Haskins celebrated her birthday, and the four soldiers who rescued her were hailed as heroes.

"What can I say to someone who saved my life?" Haskins wrote on a post to the Massachusetts National Guard Facebook about the rescue. "There are no words to express my gratitude. I thank you with all my heart."

Haskins' family members also commended the soldiers for their actions.

"We were able to celebrate her birthday yesterday due to your soldiers!" Bonnie Haskins Baker, Haskins' daughter, said in a comment and shared a photo of the birthday celebration.

According to an account of the rescue by Massachusetts Army National Guard Capt. John Quinn, Francis and Coppola were driving along a wooded tank trail when they found Haskins' Cadillac.

The two soldiers are non-commissioned officers in G Company 186th Brigade Support Battalion and were at the base with 1st Battalion, 101st Field Artillery Regiment. Part of the 101st's training included firing new howitzers at the base.

Francis and Coppola were initially shocked at the discovery and said they honked at the car.

"We didn't know what to think at first," Francis said in the account. They found her slumped in the backseat and called out to her but said she was unresponsive.

Francis and Coppola, who are both civilian firefighters, determined she was breathing and sought help from a nearby group. They guided Shively and Amardey-Wellington to the scene to assess Haskins, according to Quinn's account.

“I ran up to the vehicle and found she was just waking up,” Coppola said. “We were thinking the worst when we first started.”

As Haskins awoke, she was disoriented and unable to explain how she ended up deep in the woods, but once inside a military ambulance, the soldiers found out she had been stuck since Saturday morning, Quinn wrote. She appeared to be suffering from severe dehydration and potential heat illness as a result of the hot temperatures.

Temperatures in that part of New Jersey were in the 90s throughout the weekend into Monday, and the heat index exceeded 100 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

Route 539 runs through Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, connecting Manchester Township and Plumsted Township in Ocean County, New Jersey. Navigating the roads can be confusing to someone unfamiliar with the area, and cell phone service is often unreliable, making it difficult for travelers who encounter a problem to call for help.

The rescuers, from left: Staff Sgt. Dana Francis, Sgt. Tommy Coppola, Spc. John Shively and Pfc. Aaron Amardey-Wellington. Photo by Army Capt. John Quinn, Massachusetts Army National Guard, used with permission

Karen Wall (Patch Staff) contributed to this report.