Starving camper missing for three weeks found holed up in remote High Sierra cabin: ‘It’s unheard of’

A missing 27-year-old hiker from Georgia was found alive in a remote cabin after surviving wintery weather in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains for nearly three weeks.

Tiffany Slanton went missing in Fresno County's wilderness in late April while she was camping in the region. Her parents, Fredrina and Bobby Slanton, reported her missing on April 29 after she hadn't checked in for more than a week.

That kicked off a search for the missing woman in the High Sierras that lasted for nearly three weeks. The Fresno County Sheriff's Office's Search and Rescue team covered nearly 600 square miles of the rugged and mountainous terrain searching for Slanton between May 6 and May 10. The terrain and snow accumulation made searching in cars impossible, but helicopters were brought in to scout the area.

On Monday, the Fresno County Sheriff's Office announced that it was scaling back its search for the camper, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Then, on Wednesday, Christopher Gutierrez, the owner of Vermilion Valley Resort near the Sierra National Forest and just south of Mammoth Mountain, went to check on his cabins. Snowplows that cleared the Kaiser Pass of snow made it possible for him to access his resort on Lake Edison. It was his first trip to the resort this year.

When he arrived, he made a shocking discovery — Slanton had been riding out the winter weather at his empty resort.

“She pops out, didn’t say a word, just ran up and all she wanted was a hug,” Gutierrez said on Wednesday evening during a press conference. “It was a pretty surreal moment and that’s when I realized who this was.”

Slanton's mother had the same impulse as her daughter the moment she learned she was still alive.

“I just grabbed somebody, I said, ‘Can I hug you?’ And I did,” Fredrina Slaton said, noting that she was out at a clothing store when she learned the news. “I was crying and hugging."

Slanton's father, Bobby, said the day they received the news was one of the best of their lives.

“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, the Search and Rescue team enough, and the community has been outstanding in the search for Tiffany.”

One of the reasons Slanton was able to survive was thanks to the generous forethought of Gutierrez. He said that he purposefully left one of his cabins unlocked during the winter in the event that someone lost could increase their survival chances if they found their way to the resort.

After he found Slanton, he fed her peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to tide her over until an ambulance arrived to transport her for treatment. First responders determined that she was dehydrated but was otherwise in good health, but they took her for examination at a nearby hospital to ensure she was cared for.

Tony Botti, a spokesperson for the sheriff's office, commended Slanton for surviving and added that it was the longest he'd ever seen someone survive after going missing in the wilderness.

“Two days, nine days, that’s amazing, but three weeks, it’s unheard of,” he said. “It speaks to the tenacity that Tiffany has, that she’s a fighter. She’s not going to give up.”