Google Maps mistake leaves families stranded in desert after horror dust storm
A mistake on Google Maps left dozens of families stranded in the desert for hours after a terrifying dust storm sent them the wrong way.
Multiple drivers were trying to navigate their way home from Las Vegas but they were quickly taken to the middle of nowhere. The navigation tool is supposed to give drivers the best and quickest route to their destination. But American driver Shelby Easler and others were taken down a dirt track dirt in the middle of a dust storm somewhere in the Mojave Desert.
Easler said: "Literally, it was leading us nowhere. We went nowhere and then we just ended up getting lost. This is a screengrab I took a phone from Apple Maps and they're like: 'Where are you?"
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Shelby found herself in the middle of the desert along with scores of other drivers (CBSNews)
The dust storm created havoc for Shelby and other drivers who had taken the 'alternative' route (CBSNews)Their diversion was meant to be faster taking 50 minutes off a lengthy 5.5-hour drive. Shelby thought the route would enable them to miss a dust storm and reckoned it would be safer and easier. She said: "We thought we were avoiding a dust storm,"
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The reason why they diverted was for better vision while driving. Shelby added: "We thought it'd be a little bit safer because of visibility reasons and ironically, that is not what happened."
Drivers using the alternative dusty route could only manage to reach a speed of less than 10 mph because the road was so precarious. Shelby and her family remained on it for hours until another driver stopped them and told them some further bad news. Shelby said: "He's like 'This path leads nowhere. It washes out. Doesn't exist anymore. Like, you have to turn around."
Shelby Easler tried to take a shortcut (CBSNews)The family, with Shelby at the wheel, was forced to do a seven-point turn to get off the road. They hit a cactus, bush, and even rock before turning in the opposite direction where they were met by almost 100 vehicles trying to escape the desert. Emergency calls were made to California Patrol for help to escape, but police were busy helping others who had collided during the dust storm.
The Mirror previously told how mystery surrounds a "phantom island" in the South Pacific which left experts baffled. A strange strip of land, known as Sandy Island, has been an enigma for many years after being included on many maps, including Google, for at least a decade.
Calls were made to California Patrol, about the cars facing chaos in the dust storm (Getty Images)Positioned between Australia and New Caledonia, a dark blob appeared on Google Earth, seemingly different from nearby islands which would indicate land details - so the enigma continued.
Despite being spotted via maps and marine charts, scientists headed to the area, finding nothing but blue waves of the sea - a far cry from original expectations.
Google Earth users have been left stunned over the years when they spotted the "phantom island", which dates back to when British explorer Captain James Cook charted a “Sandy I” off the northeast coast of Australia
The find was published in Cook’s “Chart of Discoveries in the South Pacific Ocean” in 1776.
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