Miracle rescue as wife uses ‘Find My iPhone’ to locate husband buried for four hours after US avalanche

A concerned wife backed her gut feeling and the ‘Find My iPhone’ app to help rescue her husband, who had disappeared after a massive avalanche in the United States.

Michael Harris was skiing at the Stevens Pass Resort in Washington last month when he was overcome by the wall of snow and became buried, unable to move.

“I don’t know if anyone is going to know where I’m at, but I can’t get out of this on my own,” Mr Harris said as he recounted his predicament to local news stations FOX News affiliate KCPQ and CBS affiliate KIRO.

As the hours ticked by and with no one actively looking for Mr Harris, his wife, Penny, began to worry about his whereabouts before trying to call him on his mobile phone.

Unable to answer the calls, Mr Harris could only hope he would be reported missing and a search would be initiated.

Ms Harris then decided to try and use an app that is automatically installed in every Apple iPhone called ‘Find My iPhone’, which enables users with access to locate the phone they are targeting.

“You get a feeling something’s just not right,” Penny Harris said.

“I followed my intuition, saw his location, checked it a couple times and saw it wasn’t moving.”

People are reporting that Ms Harris then rushed to the resort and contacted rescuers, before showing them the ‘Find My iPhone’ locator as they scrambled to track down her husband.

“She’s the best. She’s my lifesaver,” Mr Harris said after being rescued from his icy tomb after four hours.

He was found alive but had suffered serious injuries, including a broken leg, hypothermia and had fluid on one of his lungs.

A GoFundMe page has been established to assist Mr Harris as he begins what will be a slow road to recovery.

Michael and Penny’s daughter, Lauren Harris, said that her father “was hospitalised after the incident and will likely take 14 to 16 weeks to recover, if everything goes well”.

“It is a true miracle that he survived and didn’t sustain life-altering or life-threatening injuries,” Lauren said.

“I have been thanking God since the incident that he is still here with us.”

More than $40,000 has been raised through the appeal, with donations going toward medical costs and other bills, Lauren said, and added that her dad is the “sole provider” for her family.

“Thank you to all of the friends and family that have reached out, sending their thoughts, love, and prayers,” Lauren said via the GoFundMe page.

“We see you, we hear you, and we love you all so much.”