A man stranded in the snow without cell service attached his phone to a drone and flew it until he got reception and could send a message for help. It worked.

• A man driving on a remote road in Oregon's Cascade range got stuck in the snow without service.
• He attached his phone to a drone, tried sending a text, and then flew it until he got reception.
• Officials said during the rescue they also rescued a separate person who had been stuck for days.

A man who got his car stuck in the snow in a remote area of Oregon found an ingenious way to call for help even though he didn't have cell phone service.

He was driving down a remote road in the Willamette National Forest, located in the Cascades mountain range, when he got stuck, according to Lane County Sheriff's Search and Rescue.

"Making his situation worse, his family was out of the country and nobody knew where he had gone or to call for help if he didn't make it home," the search and rescue program said on Sunday.

But thinking quickly, the man, who has not been publicly identified, realized he may be able to use the drone he had with him to call for help. He attached his cell phone to the drone and then typed a text message explaining he needed help and where exactly he was, officials said. After hitting send, he flew his drone "several hundred feet into the air."

"The increased elevation allowed his phone to connect to a tower and send the message, which resulted in our teams being deployed and assisting him out of his situation," the search and rescue group said.

Officials added that during the rescue of the man, they were also able to locate and rescue another motorist who had spent "multiple days" stranded in the snow.

Rescuers praised the man's ingenuity and said he also made the right decision by remaining in his vehicle.

"Rarely does anyone in Oregon die from exposure waiting in their vehicle to be found and rescued, but we have unfortunately seen many poor outcomes from those who chose to walk away," officials said.

They added that anyone headed outdoors should let a trusted person know exactly where they are going and when they will be back, and not to deviate from the plan.

In Southern California in December, other motorists who got stranded without cell service were also able to call for help in an unusual way. Cloe Fields and her boyfriend, Christian Zelada, were driving through Angeles National Forest when their car went over a cliff and landed on the canyon floor 300 feet below.

The couple, who miraculously survived, told Insider they were able to call for help through a new Emergency SOS via satellite feature on the iPhone 14. The feature detected their fall and that they were out of cell phone range, and used satellites to connect them to emergency services.

Have a news tip? Contact this reporter at kvlamis@insider.com.