An 81-year-old man trapped in a major California snowstorm for a week says he survived by eating snow and croissants he had in his car

• An 81-year-old man stuck under the snow in his car for a week survived by eating croissants he had in his car.
• Jerry Jouret was on his way from California to Nevada when a rare serious winter storm hit the area.

An 81-year-old man who got buried in his car for a week after a major California snowstorm told his brother he survived by eating snow and the croissants he had in his car.

Jerry Jouret of Big Pine, California, set out for Gardnerville, Nevada, on February 24 — just before several feet of snow was dumped on The Golden State.

What should have been a three-hour drive for Jouret turned into a seven-day ordeal.

On the morning of February 24, the California Highway Patrol warned residents that harsh weather was moving in and advised drivers to be careful on the roads, according to a Facebook post.

Fox Weather reported that Jouret told his family that the major freeway he'd normally take — Highway 395 — was closed due to snow and ice, so he opted to take the smaller Highway 168 instead to make it to Gardnerville.

But because the snow and wind were making visibility difficult, he accidentally veered onto an even smaller road where he got stuck — only 15 miles from the start of his journey.

Holed up in his dark green Ford Escape, Jouret later told his brother he survived the seven days and six nights until he was rescued by eating snow and croissants he had in his car.

"I just really believe it was a miracle," Joe Jouret told Patch on Friday.

Meanwhile, after four days of not hearing from Jerry Jouret, his family reported him missing to the Inyo County Sheriff's Office on February 28, the office said.

Another storm the next day, Wednesday, March 1, delayed search efforts until Thursday, March 2. The Sheriff's Office began searching on the ground while the California Highway Patrol searched by air.

Around noon that day, a cell phone ping from the day Jouret went missing identified his location. Rescue crews focused their search specifically on an area near Death Valley Road, "a rough road running south of the 168 and leading into Death Valley National Park," according to the Inyo County Sheriff's office.

Because the car was buried under feet of snow, Jouret's car just looked like a rock.

After six hours of searching the area, the CPS had turned back to refuel, but the pilot "looked down and he saw what looked like a rock as he looked down. He had another man with him in the helicopter…and as they looked down there, it was [my brother's] car. He was almost buried in snow, but not quite," Joe Jouret told Patch.

"He took his hand out of the window and waved it," Joe Jouret said.

Family members of Jouret's, including his grandson and niece, shared the news of his rescue on Facebook last week.

"After 6 days and 6 nights of being trapped in a car under snow freezing with no food, water and a very thin blanket my Grandfather was rescued today by helicopter," Christian Jouret wrote. He had been posting throughout the week to raise awareness and to ask for prayers.

Jouret was immediately taken to the airport to be transported to the hospital for medical care where he was released later that day.

"He was smiling all the way back to the airport," Joe Jouret told Patch. "He was happy to get out of that situation."