Missing For 3 Weeks In The Sierra, Georgia Woman Found Alive In Remote Cabin

 

When staff at California’s Vermilion Valley Resort closed the property for winter, they left cabin doors unlocked—just in case a stranded hiker needed emergency shelter from the Sierra Nevada’s punishing storms. That simple act of foresight may have saved the life of 27-year-old Tiffany Slaton.

On Wednesday morning, resort owner Christopher Gutierrez returned to begin spring preparations. As he inspected the grounds, he noticed a cabin door ajar and a pair of shoes outside. Moments later, a young woman stepped into the doorway.

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

Slaton had been missing for nearly three weeks in the rugged Sierra National Forest. Her parents, back in Jeffersonville, Georgia, had reported her disappearance on April 29 after losing contact for more than a week. Despite a massive search effort covering over 600 square miles, deep snow and blocked roads made the operation difficult. By Monday, authorities announced they were scaling back the search. Two days later, Slaton was found.

Gutierrez gave her a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before contacting local authorities. Slaton, though hungry and dehydrated, was otherwise in good condition, according to the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office.

“This is the longest I’ve ever seen someone missing in the wilderness who survived,” said Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Tony Botti. “Three weeks—it’s unheard of. It speaks to her tenacity and will to live.”

Public tips had previously placed Slaton near Huntington Lake around April 20, more than 20 miles from where she was eventually found, across challenging mountain terrain. Officials have not yet disclosed when or why her journey began, or how she made her way to the remote Vermilion Valley Resort, located near Lake Edison between Yosemite and Sequoia/Kings Canyon national parks.

Investigators plan to interview Slaton to piece together the details of her survival—especially how she endured freezing temperatures at elevations above 6,500 feet.

Back home in Georgia, her parents received the good news while out shopping.

“I just grabbed somebody and said, ‘Can I hug you?’ And I did,” her mother, Fredrina Slaton, said. “I was crying and hugging.”

Her father, Bobby Slaton, expressed immense relief. “It feels like a ton of weight has been lifted,” he said, thanking the search-and-rescue teams and the community for their support.

Gutierrez had only been able to access the resort that day after snowplows cleared a key mountain pass. It took him over an hour to break up ice just to get onto the property.

Slaton’s parents said she grew up loving the outdoors and was always taught to be prepared for adversity.

“We believe life is an adventure,” Fredrina said. “It’s nice to know that all the things we taught her—she actually did.”