Virginia man died in freezing weather while he tried to reach home on foot after crash

2 years ago

Hanover County news, Virginia news.

A 34-year-old Virginia man was found dead late Thursday after he texted his family Monday to seek help during a snowstorm that ravaged the state.

Jacob Whaley had crashed his car in a ditch Monday evening and being just six miles away from home, he decided to walk in inclement weather conditions before he got lost.

At 8:45 p.m. Whaley sent his family a text asking for help. The family called 911 and a search for the man began along the road where he’d left his truck.

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  • Mid-South slammed by winter storms, inches of snow that caused dozens of crashes in Kentucky, Tennessee
  • But the search for Whaley triggered confusion between law enforcement agencies, the family claims, as he was lost in an area where Louisa, Hanover, and Spotsylvania Counties meet.

    The confusion about who should be searching for Whaley ruined hopes to find him alive, the outraged family alleged. On Thursday, his body was located in a wooded area about 200 yards away from his car.

    “I’m so angry with this county,” Whaley’s mom Shannon Whaley said. “All they had to do was go out and holler for him.”