A Missouri family’s faith was restored late last week after one good Samaritan helped change the course of what was a tragic week.

Dave and Jeanna McGarrah were hikers and avid travelers. Their most recent trip to Arizona took them through New Mexico last week.

“We left Amarillo, it was 40 degrees, no snow, then we hit New Mexico and it started snowing,” Jeanna told KOB 4.

That’s when their travels changed forever. They hit a snow storm just outside Santa Rosa and started looking for an exit to wait it out.

However, a jack-knifed tractor trailer blocked the road.

“We got almost stopped before we came to the truck and something big behind us, coming behind us, pushed us under the tractor trailer,” Jeanna said.

New Mexico State Police confirmed more than 40 other vehicles piled on.

“I felt other things hitting us so I knew it was continuing and it was a nightmare,” she said.

That was only the beginning of her nightmare. Her husband of 53 years, Dave, didn’t make it.

“He made it to the hospital, but he was hurt real bad,” Jeanna said.

Dave was pronounced dead at the hospital. Jeanna will face a long road to recovery. She can’t use her left arm right now, and she has fractures in her face. Her daughter and son-in-law joined her in Texas for multiple surgeries over the past week.

“I think when you get a call like that, you’re just numb,” said Ginger Kitchen, Jeanna and Dave’s daughter. “I mean, it’s not real, it’s just a dream. And I’m gonna wake up soon.”

Then came a text that restored the family’s faith – a screenshot of a New Mexico man named Chuy’s phone number, claiming he found Jeanna’s iPad near the crash site.

Chuy waited for a notification to pop up on the iPad (since it was locked) and was able to make a call and get it back to the rightful owner. The family says that iPad is full of precious pictures and memories that they thought were lost in the crash.

“It was the first bit of good news that we’ve had in several days, it was the first sliver of hope,” said Chuck Kitchen, Jeanna and Dave’s son-in-law.

Chuy sent the iPad to Missouri, but wouldn’t accept payment or recognition for it.

“He wouldn’t give us his name other than his first name, didn’t want recognition, but he needs recognition,” Jeanna said. “People need to know there’s good people in this world.”

The family asked KOB 4 for our help to track down Chuy. We found him – he works at a rest stop about 10 miles from the crash site, and he’s worked there for the past 27 years.

Chuy says this family is not the first one he’s helped. He’s mailed wallets and phones as far as New York and Iowa – and even reunited lost animals with their families.

“This morning I helped this man find a phone with my phone,” Chuy said.

Chuy says he’s never done good deeds for recognition and does not expect repayment.

“I’d like to meet him and shake his hand one of these days,” Jeanna said. “Give him a big hug because he has impacted our lives.”

Chuy did include his return address on the most recent package to Missouri – so their family will have a chance to show their appreciation.