A carful of people got stranded in the Mojave Desert during a dust storm when Google Maps sent them the wrong way
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- A family traveling from Las Vegas to LA got stranded in the desert after following Google Maps.
- Along with several other cars, they were led down an off-road trail. They eventually called 911.
- In the end, they abandoned their vehicle and had to fly home, according to a TikTok.
A family ended up calling 911 for help after Google Maps led them into the middle of the Mojave Desert, leaving them stranded for several hours and badly damaging their car.
Shelby Easler was traveling back to Los Angeles with her family on November 19 after attending the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Her brother, Austin, was driving and used Google Maps to try to find an alternative route back after it told them that a dust storm was causing delays on Interstate 15, according to SFGate.
"We were just listening to Google Maps," Easler said in a TikTok video shared on Wednesday.
The group followed the navigation app only to be led down an off-road rail, with the TikTok video showing several other cars being similarly misled.
"We were kind of sheep and we were just following the cars in front of us because we were like, it must lead somewhere," Easler said in the video.
She added that their attempts to turn the car around were unsuccessful because "the path was dug into the ground" and because other stranded vehicles were blocking them in.
"We kind of got pinned," she said.
At one point, Easler said the car in front managed to turn around and started trying to cut a path through bushes.
They followed, but the attempt led to their car getting "so scratched up" before they eventually got trapped again, according to Easler's TikTok.
In the video, she said the family eventually decided to call 911 because they were "pretty far out in the desert, it was getting late," and they were out of ideas on how to get home.
According to SFGate, the California Highway Patrol then told them they weren't able to help because they were occupied dealing with the ongoing dust storm.
The CHP did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment, which was sent outside of working hours.
Eventually, after being stranded for several hours, the Easler family made it to a gas station. She said in the video that their car was badly damaged by the journey and that they had to wait for it to be towed.
They ended up leaving the vehicle in Nevada and flying home instead, Easler said.
She told SFGate: "In the future, I'll stick to the road I know and double-check somewhere else if the route seems sketchy."
Easler did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.