After about 10 hours, authorities were able Sunday morning to rescue a 20-year-old woman, who was eight-months pregnant and going into early labor, and two of her friends from a truck stuck in the snow and mud up Cotton Gulch off Nelson Road.

At about midnight, the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff's Office received a call from Shawn Maedche, reporting that he, his wife, Ashley, and two friends were four-wheeling when they got stranded, according to Undersheriff Leo Dutton. Maedche took an all-terrain vehicle from the back of the 1979 Ford F-250 truck and went for help.

Maedche and a friend got another vehicle and attempted to lead two sheriff's deputies, who were on ATVs, to the stranded pickup, subsequently getting the second vehicle stuck in the mud as well. Dutton said the deputies then went by foot to get to the people in the truck and decided they needed to call in Lewis and Clark Search and Rescue for assistance.

An 18-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman, who were not dressed for the snow and cold weather, were brought to safety by the search and rescue team on ATVs at about 8 a.m.

Ashley Maedche was cared for by paramedics and then taken out of the gulch at about 10 a.m. and was transported by a MercyFlight helicopter to a Great Falls hospital, Dutton said. She was no longer at Benefis Healthcare as of Monday afternoon.

"It was a significant rescue because it was night and the weather was snowy and cold," Dutton said.

Although it was dry when the group went up the gulch, Dutton said, Montana weather is unpredictable.

"Our message would be that anytime you go out in Montana's beautiful scenery, be prepared, let someone know where you are going. Weather can change in a moment and with proper equipment you will survive," he said.

Reporter Angela Brandt: 447-4078 or angela.brandt@helenair.com