BEND (AP) — A Washington state couple whose car was snowbound in the Cascade Range of Central Oregon were rescued after the husband hiked about 19 miles before he could get cell phone service and call for help.

Kenneth and Andrea Phelps of Vancouver, Wash., live part time at Eagle Crest Resort near Redmond. They were visiting Lake Billy Chinook on Wednesday to watch eagles that nest in the river canyon when their car got stuck.

They stayed overnight in the car, then tried to walk out, but Andrea Phelps slipped and injured her ankle, forcing her back to the car, according to Deputy Dave Blann of the Jefferson County sheriff’s office.

Ken Phelps then hiked about 12 hours along a remote road to reach Highway 20, about four miles northwest of Sisters, Blann said. He had a minimal cell phone signal but was able to dial 911 at 9 p.m. Thursday.

Search and rescue teams aboard snowmobiles rescued Andrea Phelps and a tow truck retrieved their car. Ken Phelps said the hike was longer than he estimated.

“After my body started to get sore and I was watching the mile markers on the culverts, I said, ’Boy, this isn’t going half as quick as I thought,’” he said. “I’m going to be hiking in the dark.

“When I got about halfway, I thought, ‘How in the world am I going to make it the rest of the way?’ Then I set down and I prayed about it. That, I think, was what happened — I had help.”

Blann said the couple had no extra food or water in the car and had not been prepared for their ordeal.

As she waited, without food, Andrea Phelps said she started “thinking about all kinds of things — your family. I started to write little notes.”

“Well, if I’m dead, I’m dead,” she recalled thinking. “When do I start out on my own, walking out the other way? You just run little things through your brain, scenarios of what could happen.”

Blann said he talked to Ken Phelps on Friday, and Phelps said he was already planning what he was going to pack in his vehicle the next time he and his wife travel into a remote area.