Sacramento Students Stranded By Colorado Flooding Safely Return Home

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - As the devastation continues in Colorado, leaving several dead and hundreds still unaccounted for, dozens of Sacramento high school students are now home safe after being stranded by the historic floods.

The students flew in Sunday morning to a happy homecoming for both the teens and their families.

For days, students had no way of calling or contacting their parents to let them know what was going on. For many of them, this was their first trip away from home.

If the group of students hadn't left when they did, they could have been stranded for another week at Rocky Mountain Pathways Ranch in Allenstown.

"We came home safe; we're all fine and good," said student Kamaria Mujhaid.

There were tears of relief as parents reunited with their children after they were stranded for several days by the Colorado flooding.

"I am very relieved that he's home," said mother Patty Recore. "He's been missing his dog. I've been sending him pictures, texting him pictures of his dog."

The group of Options for Youth charter school students went on a 10-day field trip to the remote ranch when the storms hit.

"There was four main highways in that town, three of them collapsed completely," said student Alex Martinez.

Nearby towns were evacuated and roads were washed out, trapping the students at the ranch with no way to get home for two days. Until, they say, the only highway out briefly reopened, before another round of storms hit. Staff members took the chance and caravanned the group out of the ranch.

"Put the students in your personal cars and drive them to the airport as fast as you can, with this window of opportunity and we made it," said Martinez.

The students haven't slept much. They spent Saturday night at the Denver International Airport before catching a plane back to Sacramento Sunday morning.

They were all in good spirits, and happy to finally be home.

"I'm going to go home, get a shower and go to sleep," said Mujhaid.

The ranch staff says they were never in danger because the remote ranch was on higher ground, and away from the flooding.