Incredible update in hunt for female hiker who vanished in remote Sierra Nevada mountains three weeks ago
A female hiker who vanished in the remote Sierra Nevada on a solo trip was miraculously found weeks after her disappearance.
Tiffany Slaton, 27, of Jeffersonville, Georgia, was found on Wednesday afternoon after taking refuge inside a cabin at the Vermilion Valley Resort near Lake Edison in California, Fresno County Sheriff's Office said.
Slaton was reported missing on April 29 by her family after they hadn't heard from her in nine days.
The hiker was on a solo trip through the Sierra Nevada and had last been seen near Shaver Lake on April 24.
A video showed the young woman biking along the roadside and stopping to talk to fellow travelers around April 24. It was the last spotting of her.
'I can't wait to see and hug her,' her mother, Fredrina Slaton, told ABC 30.
'A ton of weight has been lifted,' her father, Bobby, said.
Slaton was found by resort owner, Christopher Gutierrez, who told police he was checking his property ahead of the summer season.
Slaton told Gutierrez she had been caught up in a blizzard and had to push her way through it. She stumbled upon his cabin and holed up there for the night.
'She pops out, didn't say a word, just ran up, and all she wanted was a hug,' he recalled to ABC 30. 'It's unbelievable. She survived solely, I want to say from what I remember her saying, solely off of leeks.'
Gutierrez said he leaves his cabin doors open for situations just like this in case a stray hiker needs to find shelter for the night.
He immediately called police and deputies and paramedics arrived shortly after to check out Slaton.
The hiker was found dehydrated, but 'otherwise in good condition,' the Sheriff's Office said.
She was transported to the hospital for further treatment.
Investigators are still trying to piece together Slaton's timeline of events.
A search-and-rescue team had been looking for Slaton but was unable to get to where she was due to Kaiser Pass being 'impassable' from a snowpack.
'Snowplows cleared the road on Wednesday, which allowed the resort owner to access his property so he could begin preparations to open it up to the public for the summer season,' the Sheriff's Office said.
Rescue crews searched '600 square miles, stretching from Mono Hot Springs to Wishon Reservoir, Pine Flat Lake to Auberry and all areas in between,' authorities said.
After meeting with deputies, Slaton was able to call her dad to tell them she's alive.
'She said: "Dad, I'm alive, and I'm sorry, but I'm alive and I wanted to call you and let you know I'm alive,"' Bobby recalled to ABC 30.
And her family has more than just her survival to celebrate, but her 28th birthday this week.
'This is one of the best birthday presents that Tiffany could receive because tomorrow is her birthday,' Bobby said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
28 minutes ago
- BBC News
A31 Bolderwood lane closure as murder investigation continues
A stretch of the A31 through the New Forest is still closed as police continue a murder investigation following the discovery of the body of a missing 46-year-old Castro Mendez disappeared having left her home in Ilford on 29 May. She was reported missing to the Metropolitan Police on 31 closures have been in place since her body was found in the Bolderwood area on Saturday - one lane is shut westbound between the M27 and the Friday Juan Toledo, 51, from south-east London, appeared at Barkingside Magistrates' Court charged with her murder and was remanded into custody. The Metropolitan Police said the family of Ms Castro Mendez had been told about the discovery of the body found during searches by officers in the forest on identification has yet to be made and a post-mortem examination has yet to take with information about Ms Castro Mendez's death is urged to contact police. You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
The Independent
33 minutes ago
- The Independent
Newsom taunts Trump's ‘tough guy' border czar to ‘come get me' after arrest threat
California Governor Gavin Newsom has escalated his war of words with Donald Trump 's administration over its handling of this weekend's tensions in Los Angeles by challenging the president's border czar Tom Homan to arrest him. Homan had told the media on Saturday that he was prepared to apprehend 'anybody' who interfered with the illegal immigrant crackdown in the city being carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, not excluding Newsom or Mayor Karen Bass. 'It's a felony to impede law enforcement doing their job,' he said. The Democrat shot back on X on Sunday by saying: 'Trump's border czar is threatening to arrest me for speaking out. Come and get me, tough guy.' 'I don't give a damn. It won't stop me from standing up for California.' The taunt accompanied a clip of an impassioned Newsom speaking to MSNBC in which he said: 'What the hell are they doing? These guys need to grow up, they need to stop and we need to push back and I'm sorry to be so clear but that kind of bloviating is exhausting. So Tom, arrest me. Let's go.' In the same interview, the governor denounced Trump's decision to send in the state National Guard to assist local law enforcement in maintaining order after three nights of angry demonstrations against ICE's latest drive to arrest alleged undocumented migrants. Newsom posted a number of other clips from the same segment last night, in one of which he said the president had 'manufactured a crisis and is inflaming conditions' through his actions and rhetoric and in another called Trump 'a stone cold liar.' The governor further posted a video of Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio and accused them of provoking violence and chaos, 'militarizing cities' and arresting their opponents, before declaring: 'These are the acts of a dictator, not a president.' Elsewhere, Newsom reported that he had formally requested that the president stand down the Guard, posted a letter of support from leading Democrats and attacked other top Republicans including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and House Speaker Mike Johnson, scoffing: 'Smart guys running the operation.' Trump retaliated on Truth Social, writing: 'Governor Gavin Newscum [sic] and 'Mayor' Bass should apologize to the people of Los Angeles for the absolutely horrible job that they have done, and this now includes the ongoing L.A. riots. These are not protesters, they are troublemakers and insurrectionists. Remember, NO MASKS!' He branded Newsom and Bass 'incompetent', criticized their handling of wildfires in the same city earlier this year and said the federal government would have to step in if they 'can't do their jobs.' The mass resistance to ICE's actions since Friday has seen vehicles set alight and protesters throwing fireworks at armed law enforcement officers, holding aloft placards bearing hostile slogans and shouting: 'Shame on you!' Officers in riot gear have responded by firing tear gas and flash grenades in attempts to disperse the crowds. ICE operations across Los Angeles County have so far resulted in the arrests of 118 accused illegal immigrants despite the clashes, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Telegraph
42 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Rioters torch driverless cars in third day of LA unrest
Masked protesters in Los Angeles smashed and torched self-driving electric cars as the city was gripped by a third day of volatile demonstrations. Protesters waving Mexican flags were pictured vandalising and standing on the bonnets of the white Waymo autonomous taxis as thousands of activists descended on the city's downtown area. It came as demonstrators protesting against federal immigration raids clashed with police again on Sunday, with officers firing rubber bullets, tear gas and balls of pepper spray into the crowd. Photographs appeared to show a protester smashing a car with a hammer, while in footage a burning American flag was seen being thrown into a vehicle. Other videos showed the self-driving taxis with their tyres slashed and windows smashed, along with anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency graffiti sprawled on their bodywork. Protesters who swarmed around the vehicles were also seen tearing their doors off and using a makeshift flamethrower to set them on fire. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) warned people to avoid the area. The force said in a statement: 'Burning lithium-ion batteries release toxic gases, including hydrogen fluoride, posing risks to responders and those nearby.' By 6pm, at least four self-driving cars had been completely burnt out, with only their wheels recognisable amid mounds of white ash and metal. After launching in San Francisco in 2021, Waymo, a subsidiary of Google's parent company Alphabet, began its service ferrying passengers in the city in November. A Waymo spokesman told the Los Angeles Times that the company was in touch with law enforcement regarding the incident. Sunday's protest had been organised by the Los Angeles branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation. Another is planned for Monday. Cynthia Martinez, whose parents moved to the US from Mexico, told The Telegraph: 'I'm here because I want to fight for the rights of immigrants.' The 30-year-old teacher added: 'I want to make sure I'm here for the people and stand up for those that cannot stand up for themselves.' On Saturday night, Gavin Newsom, the Democrat California governor, had urged protesters not to give Donald Trump a 'spectacle' after the US president announced he was deploying 2,000 National Guard troops to the city. The arrival of hundreds of troops on Sunday marked the first time since 1965 that a president had activated a National Guard force without a request from a state's governor. Despite Mr Newsom's pleas, National Guard troops were quickly deployed to guard federal government buildings, as dozens of police cars lined the streets. The LAPD declared several rallies, in different parts of the city, to be 'unlawful assemblies', while accusing some protesters of throwing concrete projectiles, bottles and other items at officers. The sky over downtown Los Angeles was thick with smoke as protesters set off fireworks and law enforcement fired flash-bang grenades and rubber bullets in an attempt to disperse the crowd. Among those caught up in the chaos was an Australian journalist, who was shot in the leg with a rubber bullet as she delivered a piece to camera away from any protesters. 'This is the worst I've seen since the LA riots,' a police officer said as he escorted a Telegraph reporter through a barricaded area to retrieve their car, which had been hit by a projectile, cracking the windscreen. At least five police helicopters circled above, while officers on horseback fired tear gas into the crowd to push the protesters back. Whole swathes of downtown Los Angeles were coated in graffiti, with vandals spraying 'F--- Ice, F--- Trump' and 'Deport Trump's wife' onto walls and buildings. By nightfall, the majority of protesters had gone home. Some of those that remained set fire to bins on street corners, set off fireworks and threw Molotov cocktails towards the police. One helicopter circled lower, using its spotlight to illuminate pockets of protesters. 'Why are you running?' an officer said from the aircraft, as protesters ran from police just after 10pm. 'I'm gonna getcha.'
