A 72-year-old woman who vanished during a solo camping trip in Northern California has been found alive after apparently spending days injured at the bottom of a steep embankment.
Mary Beth Granbery, of Mount Shasta, set out Sept. 28 for a multi-day camping trip near the Cabin Creek Trailhead in Shasta County. Concern grew when she failed to return as expected and did not show up for work on Friday, Oct. 2.
Her family reported her missing, triggering a search that ultimately involved sheriff’s offices from both Shasta and Siskiyou counties, search-and-rescue volunteers and California Highway Patrol Air Operations.
The first major break came Saturday when Granbery’s camper van was located near the Cabin Creek Trailhead.
Search teams then began combing an unforgiving section of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest filled with steep terrain, creeks, fallen trees and trail debris.
On the morning of Sunday, Oct. 4, rescuers finally found Granbery alive near Cabin Creek.
She was at the bottom of an approximately 100-foot embankment, roughly three miles from the trailhead and about 300 yards from the main trail, according to information released by authorities.
Granbery had suffered serious injuries from a fall and was also suffering from the effects of prolonged exposure to the elements.
Because she was unable to simply walk out of the rugged area, a California Highway Patrol helicopter was brought in to remove her from the drainage.
Crews hoisted Granbery from the wilderness before she was transported for medical treatment in Redding.
Exactly when Granbery fell remains unclear, meaning authorities have not determined precisely how long she was stranded at the bottom of the embankment.
Investigators believe she may have been taking a day hike from her camper and ventured away from the trail, possibly to go fishing, before falling.
About 25 search-and-rescue personnel from Shasta and Siskiyou counties were involved in the operation.
Her family also played an important role. Authorities said information supplied by Granbery’s loved ones helped searchers narrow down where she might have gone, ultimately contributing to her rescue.
The case highlights how quickly even an experienced outdoor trip can turn dangerous.
A person only a few hundred yards from a marked trail can be extremely difficult to spot in dense and mountainous terrain, particularly when steep embankments, vegetation and waterways obscure the view.
Search-and-rescue crews urged hikers and campers to make sure someone knows exactly where they intend to go, when they are leaving and when they expect to return.
Officials also recommend that people who become lost remain in one location whenever it is safe to do so rather than continuing to wander, which can dramatically increase the size of the area rescuers have to search.
For Granbery, those search efforts ended with the outcome her family had been hoping for: after days alone and injured in the Northern California wilderness, rescuers found her alive.
Discover more from Next Gen News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.