Woman Found 'Alive and Safe' at Bottom of Canyon Days After Vanishing from 'Perilous' Campsite
The camper was "located safe and alive" according to the Coconino County Sheriff's Office, who called off the search for Banda on Monday, June 16
Banda first disappeared when she walked away from the campsite she was sharing with her father, authorities saidA 32-year-old woman who went missing from the Edge of the World campsite in Flagstaff, Ariz. has been found after she was last seen on Friday, June 13.
The Coconino County Sheriff's Office said that Janelle Banda had been "located alive and safe" on Monday, June 16, after she was reported missing when she walked away from her campsite while camping with her father, David Banda.
While the sheriff did not share additional details, Janelle's sister Sarah Banda told Fox affiliate KSAV that Janelle was found by a member of the search team near the bottom of Bear Sign Canyon, which is located in the Coconino National Forest.
The Coconino County and Pinal County sheriff's offices worked together on the rescue, Sam Salzwedel, a public information officer with the Pinal County Sheriff, shared with PEOPLE in an email statement.
Janelle was located by a Coconino County search and rescue team on Monday, said Salzwedel, who added, "She was on steep terrain in a narrow canyon. Pinal County's helicopter was available to assist and hoist her out on our Huey helicopter."
PEOPLE also reached out to the Coconino County Sheriff for more information about the rescue.
Sarah said she had not yet seen her sister as of Monday, but told KASV, "I want to see her so badly. I was told that my dad got to talk to her, and she's saying that she just wants to see her family."
She continued, "Truly, you're thinking, how do you go, for me, how do I go about without my sister? But now that she's here, I get to appreciate every moment that I have with her even more so than ever before."
Janelle was last seen around 10:30 p.m. local time on Friday before she was declared missing, according to the original missing persons report shared by the Coconino County Sheriff. The original report said at the time that she "walked away from the camp with unknown intentions and has not returned."
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The Edge of the World campground where Janelle and her father had been camping includes terrain that can be perilous due to "steep drop-offs," according to previous reporting from KSAV.
Prior to her discovery, David, Janelle's father, told the outlet, "We were having an amazing time, but at the same time, this is a very dangerous place. Everybody should know to take every precaution when they come here to visit. The cliff, the canyons, it's extremely dangerous."
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