A woman who had been missing for more than two weeks after a hiking trip just before a blizzard in California has been found safe.
On Wednesday, May 16, 27-year-old Tiffany Slaton was “miraculously” found alive in a cabin at the Vermilion Valley Resort near Lake Edison in the Sierra Nevada, mountain range the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office reported.
According to the authorities, Slaton was found by the resort’s owner, Christopher Gutierrez, after snow plows cleared the roads enough for him to access the property. He told police he typically kept a cabin open in case someone stranded, much like Slaton, happened upon it. On Wednesday, he had gone to the resort to begin preparing for the summer season when he noticed someone’s belongings.
“As soon as we start making our way there, here comes Tiffany, she pops out, deer in the headlights. So she pops out, didn’t say a word, just ran up and all she wanted was a hug,” he said during a press conference, per CBS News.
According to NBC News, he said Slaton didn’t know how many days she’d been missing or that anyone had been looking for her.
Gutierrez drove Slaton to meet deputies and medics. They said she was dehydrated but otherwise in good health. She was taken to the hospital for further evaluation.
Slaton’s parents reported her missing on April 29 after they hadn’t heard from her for nine days. She was last seen on April 24 at a convenience store. According to Powder magazine, the snowstorm fell from April 25 through April 27. A “full-scale” search in the mountains was launched for Slaton between May 6 and May 10, covering roughly 600 square miles.
However, according to the police, “the crew never found any trace of Tiffany or her belongings.”
Her mother, Fredrina, was out shopping for clothes to pack for a trip to the region when she got the news that Tiffany had been found alive, Fox News reported.
“I just grabbed somebody and said, ‘can I hug you’? And I did, I was crying and hugging,” Fredrina said.
Slaton’s father, Bobby, said he received a call from his daughter as she was on her way down from the mountain. Hearing her voice was “truly” when the tears started, he said, adding how he was so pleasantly surprised he had to ask who he was speaking to.
“She said ‘Dad, I’m alive, and I’m sorry, but I’m alive, and I wanted to call you and let you know that I’m alive,’ and I asked because I didn’t want to get my hopes up. I asked ‘who was this’? And she says ‘This is Tiffany.’ And that was it,” he said. “I just thank God for that moment because prayers were answered.”
The father said his daughter being found alive ranks among the “third or fourth best day” of their lives, after the birth of his children.
“We are extremely excited and happy to hear the news that my daughter is now safe,” he said. “A ton of weight has been lifted, and we can’t thank the sheriff’s department of Fresno enough and the search and rescue team enough for – and most certainly, the community. The community has been outstanding in the search for Tiffany.”
