Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Episode 144: The Ice Miracle - Jean Hilliard
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Episode 144: The Ice Miracle - Jean Hilliard
In December 1980, 19-year-old Jean Hilliard from Lengby, Minnesota, slid her car into a ditch on an icy rural road during a bitterly cold night with temperatures at -22°F. She decided to walk about two miles to a friend's house for help but collapsed unconscious in the snow just 15 feet from the door, where she lay exposed and frozen solid for six to seven hours. The next morning, rancher Wally Nelson discovered her rigid body—described as hard as a log, with frozen-open eyes and no detectable vital signs—and rushed her to the local hospital, where doctors initially thought she was dead. Miraculously, after slow warming with heating pads and community prayers, she revived within hours, made a full recovery with no amputations or lasting damage, and went on to live a normal life, leaving medical experts baffled by her survival.
Branch of Hope:
https://www.dareformore.org/
In 2012, Reba Bowman, founder of Dare for More, traveled to the Dominican Republic to speak at a women's event. What she witnessed there forever changed her—and the direction of the ministry.She saw firsthand the devastating plight of women and girls in places where toxic cultural norms treat them as disposable. In these environments, exploitation takes countless cruel forms, and extreme poverty often becomes the breaking point, pushing vulnerable women and children into unimaginable crises.
Living on as little as $1.25 a day creates desperate pressure that leaves families exposed to human trafficking and other forms of abuse. Globally, millions of women and children endure exploitation every day as a result.
Many factors drive individuals to this edge: marginalization by their own communities, widowhood, orphanhood, abuse, neglect, or simply having no one to hear their cries for help.
At Dare for More, we believe prevention is as vital as rescue. By reaching women and families before they fall into victimhood, we help build stability and hope.In each community we serve, we offer practical, life-changing support: life-skills training, job training, and resources that empower women to provide for themselves and their children. These opportunities spark immediate transformation for families while sowing seeds of generational change—breaking cycles of poverty and vulnerability for years to come.
Through rescue, restoration, and mobilization, Dare for More dares to believe in brighter futures for women and children worldwide.
Sources:
Enger, J. (2018, January 25). Frozen. Thawed. Not dead: Jean Hilliard's amazing Minnesota story. MPR News. https://www.mprnews.org/story/2018/01/25/jean-hilliard-northern-minnesota-frozen-survived
McRae, M. (2023, October 23). Amazing true story: The woman who survived being “Frozen Solid.” ScienceAlert. https://www.sciencealert.com/amazing-true-story-the-woman-who-survived-being-frozen-solid
Connare, C. (2026, January 27). Frozen Stiff: A true story of winter survival. Almanac.com. https://www.almanac.com/extra/frozen-stiff-true-story-winter-survival
Join The Dark Oak Discussion:
Patreon
The Dark Oak Podcast Website
TikTok
Youtube
This episode of The Dark Oak was created, researched, written, recorded, hosted, edited, published, and marketed by Cynthia and Stefanie of Just Us Gals Productions with artwork by Justyse Himes and Music by Ryan Creep
View all episodes
By Just Us Gals Productions
4.6
5555 ratings
In December 1980, 19-year-old Jean Hilliard from Lengby, Minnesota, slid her car into a ditch on an icy rural road during a bitterly cold night with temperatures at -22°F. She decided to walk about two miles to a friend's house for help but collapsed unconscious in the snow just 15 feet from the door, where she lay exposed and frozen solid for six to seven hours. The next morning, rancher Wally Nelson discovered her rigid body—described as hard as a log, with frozen-open eyes and no detectable vital signs—and rushed her to the local hospital, where doctors initially thought she was dead. Miraculously, after slow warming with heating pads and community prayers, she revived within hours, made a full recovery with no amputations or lasting damage, and went on to live a normal life, leaving medical experts baffled by her survival.
Branch of Hope:
https://www.dareformore.org/
In 2012, Reba Bowman, founder of Dare for More, traveled to the Dominican Republic to speak at a women's event. What she witnessed there forever changed her—and the direction of the ministry.She saw firsthand the devastating plight of women and girls in places where toxic cultural norms treat them as disposable. In these environments, exploitation takes countless cruel forms, and extreme poverty often becomes the breaking point, pushing vulnerable women and children into unimaginable crises.
Living on as little as $1.25 a day creates desperate pressure that leaves families exposed to human trafficking and other forms of abuse. Globally, millions of women and children endure exploitation every day as a result.
Many factors drive individuals to this edge: marginalization by their own communities, widowhood, orphanhood, abuse, neglect, or simply having no one to hear their cries for help.
At Dare for More, we believe prevention is as vital as rescue. By reaching women and families before they fall into victimhood, we help build stability and hope.In each community we serve, we offer practical, life-changing support: life-skills training, job training, and resources that empower women to provide for themselves and their children. These opportunities spark immediate transformation for families while sowing seeds of generational change—breaking cycles of poverty and vulnerability for years to come.
Through rescue, restoration, and mobilization, Dare for More dares to believe in brighter futures for women and children worldwide.
Sources:
Enger, J. (2018, January 25). Frozen. Thawed. Not dead: Jean Hilliard's amazing Minnesota story. MPR News. https://www.mprnews.org/story/2018/01/25/jean-hilliard-northern-minnesota-frozen-survived
McRae, M. (2023, October 23). Amazing true story: The woman who survived being “Frozen Solid.” ScienceAlert. https://www.sciencealert.com/amazing-true-story-the-woman-who-survived-being-frozen-solid
Connare, C. (2026, January 27). Frozen Stiff: A true story of winter survival. Almanac.com. https://www.almanac.com/extra/frozen-stiff-true-story-winter-survival
Join The Dark Oak Discussion:
Patreon
The Dark Oak Podcast Website
TikTok
Youtube
This episode of The Dark Oak was created, researched, written, recorded, hosted, edited, published, and marketed by Cynthia and Stefanie of Just Us Gals Productions with artwork by Justyse Himes and Music by Ryan Creep
More shows like The Dark Oak
View all
Generation Why: True Crime
17,314 Listeners
The Vanished Podcast
15,260 Listeners
The Trail Went Cold
3,135 Listeners
Already Gone Podcast
3,995 Listeners
Trace Evidence
4,066 Listeners
MURDERISH
3,433 Listeners
Morbid
99,713 Listeners
Going West: True Crime
10,897 Listeners
Big Mad True Crime
5,929 Listeners
Last Seen Alive
935 Listeners
THEY DISAPPEARED
288 Listeners
LOVE MURDER
3,363 Listeners
And Then They Were Gone
889 Listeners
Where are they?
473 Listeners
Campus Killings
426 Listeners