The search for the perfect Christmas tree has led Keith and Jennifer Lee on some unexpected adventures but nothing quite like this week's journey into Oregon's high country.

They said they found their prize _ a silver-tip fir that only grows at high elevations _ and were headed home on a remote mountain road when they found themselves suddenly mired in snow.

Out of cell phone range, the couple spent three days and two cold nights before Keith Lee finally freed the four-wheel-drive Subaru and drove home, the tree still tied on top.

They said they soon heard radio news reports about a search that had begun Wednesday with a helicopter, Sno-Cats and ATVs. They called 911, then phoned a close friend who was taking care of their four children.

"I screamed, 'They're safe, they're coming home,'" said the friend, Sophie Smith. "Everybody just fell and cried."

Just like thousands of Oregonians each year, the Lees bought a Christmas tree permit from their local national forest office and headed out Tuesday morning to find a silver-tip fir, just like the one they got a year ago.

The couple also ventured into the Siskiyou Mountains near the California border last year, but got lost. They were better prepared this time, bringing two maps, a cell phone equipped with GPS, three blankets and 24 bottles of water. They purposely drove their all-wheel-drive, but didn't take chains or food.

The couple cut the tree and headed for home. Then disaster struck.

"We went around the corner, and there was no snow and then all of a sudden it was like quicksand," said Jennifer Lee, 38. "We just sunk into two feet of snow."

Keith Lee, 36, tried rocking, putting the car in drive, then quickly in reverse. But each time the car slid back closer to a cliff.

"It was like something you see on TV news," Jennifer Lee said. "It was really surreal _ not like it was really happening to us."

Above the fog that regularly socks in the Rogue Valley in winter, the Lees were warm during the day. The couple huddled under their blankets at night, running the car engine 15 minutes every hour for heat. They had no food, but plenty of water.

Jennifer Lee said she spent much of Tuesday and Wednesday praying while her husband worked to free the car. She thought of her kids, ages 8 to 18, and what kind of Christmas it would be for them without their parents.

"Who was going to have my kids?" she said. "Where were they going to go? What kind of Christmas is this without my kids? Santa. Of course, Santa. Where's Santa going to go? Santa for my 8-year-old. Where's my 8-year-old going to go?"