GX470 about to roll over

On Saturday, January 11th, 2025, at 3:21 p.m. (CT), we received a request for help with an off-road recovery in Alabama. The requester, Anderson Todd, submitted the following information: “Vehicle is about to roll over. Stuck in a lot of mud. I just need help pulling it out of a predicament. Lexus GX470, white. I’m with the vehicle / I can help cover the cost of fuel.”

Our administrator, David Mrak, contacted the requester and verified the contact information provided, GPS location, and current situation before sending the request to local volunteers. In this particular recovery, we contacted volunteers within a 25-mile radius.

Not more than five minutes after sending the text message to local volunteers, Jesse Wilson stepped up to take over the recovery, letting us know: “I have an XJ on 35s with a winch. I’m in south HSV and can head that way in less than 10 minutes.”

Three more volunteers—Jonathan Moran, Mark Rogers, and Michaeil Troxell—also marked themselves as standing by in case Jesse needed extra help.

By 5:50 p.m., David received the final update from Jesse—everyone was safe, and the vehicle was successfully recovered. Later, Jesse shared a bit more about the recovery effort.

From Jesse:

“Unfortunately, I’m terrible at taking pictures, but I remember the recovery pretty well!

The area was extremely muddy when we arrived, and a Lexus was stuck in a hole with a tire off the ground. That’s when we found out it wasn’t just one recovery—it was two! A 2500 Dodge Ram had gotten stuck while trying to recover the Lexus. At the same time, a Jeep Wrangler YJ was attempting to pull out the Dodge Ram, but it wasn’t making much progress.

I used a kinetic rope to recover the Ram first so we could reach the Lexus. Then, I called in a friend with another Jeep to use as an anchor. With a combination of winches, blocks, and tree savers, we were able to pull the Lexus out of the hole and get it back on (somewhat) solid ground.

But the adventure wasn’t over yet—just after we got him out, he got stuck again in another hole! So, we had to winch him out a second time. In the end, everyone made it out safe, and we called it a successful recovery!”

We want to thank all the volunteers who responded to this request, with a special shoutout to Jesse Wilson for doing an amazing job!

If you would like to receive a text message when we get a request near you, create your account here: offroadportal.org/signup