Latest news with #MayaSuisse
Daily Mail
10-08-2025
- Daily Mail
Teen who vanished on family camping trip found SAFE after spending over 24 hours in the wilderness when she 'got lost on the way to the bathroom'
A 14-year-old girl who vanished during a family camping trip in Utah 's remote Uinta Mountains was found safe more than 24 hours after she sparked an urgent search when she disappeared. Maya Suisse, of Cache Valley, was camping with her family in the Painter Basin area near Kidney Lakes on Thursday when she became disoriented on her way back from the campsite bathroom. The simple outing turned into a 25-hour ordeal, leaving the 14-year-old alone in the wilderness and triggering a large-scale search by land and air. 'I went to the bathroom, and then on the way back, I got lost,' Maya told KUTV following her safe return. 'I couldn't figure out if I was supposed to be going east or west – and I went the wrong way.' Maya eventually found a trail with a sign and decided to stay put, hoping it would help rescuers locate her. 'My grandpa knows a lot of the trails, so I thought he would be able to find me there,' she said. 'So I just hung out there, and then I just slept on a rock.' 'It was a pretty nice rock,' she added in an interview with KSL-TV. Search-and-rescue teams were deployed Thursday after the teen was reported missing by her family. The widespread response included ground crews flown in by helicopter, horse teams, and local volunteers already in the area. Just after 1 p.m. Friday, a helicopter crew assisting the search spotted Maya near a well-known trail that has been the site of past disappearances. Duchesne County Sheriff's Captain John Crowley described the area as 'super dense,' making visibility and navigation extremely difficult. 'She was safe and sound, a little sunburned,' Crowley said. 'She wanted a drink of water, was in good spirits, and was even laughing and joking with us.' Maya described the night in the woods as cold, saying she tried to stay warm by curling up on the rock and pulling her shirt over her legs. 'It was so cold. I was trying to get my legs inside my shirt and lay my head on the rock to keep warm,' she said. Despite the difficult conditions, Maya said she stayed calm throughout her time alone. Recalling the moment the helicopter spotted her, she said: 'I think I started flagging them down,' adding, 'everybody was a lot more worried about me than I was.' Her mother, Tami Suisse, said she ran to her daughter and hugged her as soon as Maya was brought off the mountain. 'I'm so relieved and so grateful to have her safe, and so thankful to all of the people that helped find her,' she told KSL-TV. 'Duchesne County search and rescue, their sheriff's department - they were amazing to work with. So, very grateful to them and grateful that she is safe and not injured.' Maya was found in good physical condition and said the first thing she was looking forward to was a hot shower. Crowley offered advice for anyone who becomes lost in the wilderness, urging naturegoers to 'Go to an empty field instead of hiding in the trees or staying on trails.' 'That way a helicopter can spot you more easily,' he added. Maya's sister, Brittany Suisse, told KUTV before she was found that the family remained hopeful because search teams believed she might be circling the area. Brittany also described Maya as a fairly experienced backpacker. After her safe return, Brittany's Facebook post about the search was flooded with supportive messages. 'Not sure I've ever felt so relieved in my entire life. So so so grateful she's ok,' one user commented. 'Best news ever, I've been thinking about her all day. What a smart kid!' wrote another. Another wrote: 'I was thinking about this situation all day and I'm SO relieved she's ok!!'
Daily Mail
08-08-2025
- Daily Mail
Girl, 14, vanishes during family camping trip to ultra-remote beauty spot
Crews are searching for a 14-year-old girl who disappeared Thursday from a remote area in the Utah mountains where she had been camping with her family. Maya Suisse was last seen at 10am Thursday in the Uinta Mountains, a vast range in northeastern Utah that extends slightly into Colorado and Wyoming. The teenager had been staying at a campsite with her family, but vanished after she left on her own to use the bathroom, police said. She was last seen in the in the Painter Basin area near Kidney Lakes, according to the Duchesne County Sheriff's Office. She was wearing a pink hooded sweatshirt and gray capri pants. Maya's sister, Brittany Suisse, described the missing teen as a fairly experienced backpacker, KUTV reported. Search-and-rescue crews began searching the area on foot, horseback and via helicopter. 'They wonder if she's possibly okay and just going in circles, which is why they haven't been able to find her,' Brittany told KUTV. 'They haven't found any signs of her yet, to my knowledge. They are optimistic that they will find her.' Capt. John Crowley of the Duchesne County Sheriff's Office said the best way to search such a remote area is to 'ride it out and hope for the best.' Brittany said she asked the sheriff's office how often they are unable to locate missing people, and they responded that it was uncommon. 'That made us feel better about the situation,' she told KUTV. 'Still not great. She's been missing for almost a full day now.' Brittany wrote in a Facebook post that search crews do not want additional help, 'but that may change.' 'If you are willing to be on standby, please let me know,' she said. Her Facebook post has been flooded with supportive messages and shared over 175 times. In its Friday statement, the sheriff's office said that search teams 'remain on site and are expanding efforts on the ground and by air as conditions allow.'
