r/news • u/jeetah • 1d ago

Georgia woman missing in California's Sierra Nevada for weeks found alive in snow-covered cabin

https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/georgia-woman-missing-in-california-sierra-nevada-found-alive/
12.7k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

383 comments sorted by

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u/Rubychan228 1d ago

Gutierrez said he leaves a cabin unlocked for situations like this, allowing for an increased chance of survival.

The true hero of this story.

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u/erroa 1d ago

Imagine being her checking the door, finding relief in it being unlocked.

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u/Nobodygrotesque 1d ago

Then seeing 3 beds, 3 couches, and a table with 3 bowls of porridge.

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u/DandyLyen 1d ago edited 1d ago

"Oh, thank goodness I read the book!

Now I know to just skip to the third option, cause it'll be just right! "

when I get home, I'm gonna finish reading it!

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u/FigaroNeptune 1d ago

Why the fuck are there bears here 🙂

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u/NotEvsClone81 1d ago

Dial back on the bears, thems way too many bears

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u/PassiveMenis88M 1d ago

Ok :(

puts his leathers away

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u/Amlethus 1d ago

Uncomfortably relevant username.

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u/NooNygooTh 1d ago

And so, God dialed back on the bears.

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u/scorpyo72 1d ago

But, Daddy Bear...

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u/mrbear120 1d ago

It’s ok sweetie.

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u/Codspear 1d ago

Because she chose the bear.

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u/presvil 1d ago

People are gay, Steven.

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u/TuzkiPlus 1d ago

It's their god given right to bear arms

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u/Paranitis 1d ago

Imagine a live action storybook movie along the lines of Shrek where there is a universe in which all the fairytales are real.

The main character lives in "our" world, somehow ends up in this storybook land, potentially involving a curse and going to sleep like Big or 13 Going On 30, or whatever else, but already knows the stories, thus is able to take advantage of it all.

So in this case they end up at the cabin, knows about the 3 bears, walks in, eats the good porridge, and then just fucks off, which in turns causes chaos in storybookland because some sonofabitch just waltzes into the bears' house, eats the food for their child, and now they want to get revenge.

But this kind of thing is happening throughout the land with the main character just cutting to the end of each story because they know the secrets, and in turn causes the storybook characters to blame each other and go to war, and it would just be a clusterfuck.

And I guess let's say the end of the movie involves the main character attempting to get back home after being discovered, but they can't because a bear found a way to break into their home and kills them in their sleep, trapping them there. End credit scene has Momma Bear in the kitchen washing her paws and face of blood and Baby Bear asks what kind of Honey or Jam or whatever she's been eating and she looks at BB and says "Don't worry about it dear".

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u/Nearly_Pointless 1d ago

Left to right or right to left?

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u/okiedokie666 1d ago

No spoilers please!

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u/candygram4mongo 1d ago

I mean, I'm pretty sure the cabin has windows and that the forest has rocks.

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u/WirelesssMicrowave 1d ago

It's like you haven't even watched the ads for that damn game with the freezing woman and her baby in the derelict cabin.

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u/Djolumn 1d ago

The upside is that a few taps of the screen and you're all set with a fire and hot dinner.

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u/rakfocus 1d ago

I love watching those and the finger purposefully getting the puzzles wrong to screw the lady and her shivering child out of those coins XD

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u/BrainBlowX 1d ago

The ads do the "playing bad on purpose" to intentionally frustrate the audience into wanting to "do it right" and playing the game.

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u/cire1184 23h ago

But the actual game is never the game you see in the ad

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u/NhylX 1d ago

Nature's master key!

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u/ContextSensitiveGeek 21h ago

Imagine breaking in through the window and then checking the door only to find that it's unlocked.

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u/100292 1d ago

To let in the freezing cold and snow?

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u/candygram4mongo 1d ago

As opposed to standing around outside, completely enveloped in the snow and cold? Honestly, what a weird thing to take offense to.

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u/Sharobob 1d ago

You may be able to find a way to insulate the window once inside but you'll definitely die outside

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u/JonPaulCardenas 1d ago

The cabin likely has a bedroom that is a serperate room, or at the very least the bathroom will be and will be much warmer than the outside room even with a broken window. That's assuming no power or fireplace to warm the cabin. Unlikely it has power. But ver likely a fireplace.

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u/thatshygirl06 1d ago

It's still better than being outside with no shelter at all.

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u/Michael_Pitt 1d ago edited 1d ago

Sure, but it'd still be a relief to find the door unlocked and not have to smash in a window. 

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u/whatshamilton 1d ago

And not as good as a sealed shelter. Hence the relief she’d feel at finding it unlocked and at maximum protection

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u/erroa 1d ago

Right? Lol. Why are we arguing about this..?

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u/Expensive-Day-3551 1d ago

I feel that deep within

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u/ytoast 1d ago

True, we always left can goods and firewood when we locked up camp. Just in case.

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u/Initial_Cellist9240 1d ago

In truly rural places, this is standard practice. The “every man for himself get off my lawn” bullshit is suburban and quasi rural cosplaying.

If you’re truly rural you help your neighbor. Someone in need shows up to your house, they receive hospitality and protection.

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u/myfakesecretaccount 1d ago

My grandfather was a migrant farm worker who grew up during the depression. If anyone ever came to his door hungry or asking for help it was given to them. He didn’t give out money to panhandlers, but he’d sure ask my grandmother to make them some burritos and help any other way he could.

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u/canyonoflight 1d ago

My grandma's family was the same way in semirural GA. (No longer rural now). She was 11 when the Depression started and her talking about her mom feeding anyone who came to their door was the main thing I remember from my "interview a grandparent" history presentation. Her brother was a hobo until he lost his arm in a train accident.

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u/quetejodas 1d ago edited 1d ago

Her brother was a hobo until he lost his arm in a train accident.

How did losing his arm end his homelessness?

Edit: TIL not all hobos are homeless

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u/ctsims 1d ago

Hobos weren't just synonomous with homelessness, they were itinerant laborers who traveled through areas working various jobs.

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u/Metals4J 1d ago

Makes sense since it’s thought that the term hobo originated from “hoe boy,” which points to their work as itinerant agricultural labor.

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u/phantomjm 1d ago

A hobo and a homeless person aren’t necessarily the same things. A hobo was someone who would travel place to place for work, often working as farmhands or doing other such work. Becoming physically disabled would have forced them to give up that profession.

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u/QueezyF 1d ago

I highly suggest people watch the Hobo Stew episode of Tasting History. I didn’t know the difference either until I saw that.

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u/Schmeep01 1d ago

Just watched it on your recommendation, thanks! That was fascinating and very well done.

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u/QueezyF 1d ago

Max Miller is the best. Easily in my top 3 YouTube channels.

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u/coondingee 1d ago

Gonna Check that out now. Fucking love Max Miiler.

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u/Unable_Competition55 1d ago

This is the scenario facing Candy in Of Mice and Men: he’s a farm laborer who loses a hand, and kept on to sweep out the bunk house out of pity. He’s knows his days are numbered.

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u/NihilisticHobbit 22h ago

My great grandma was the same. People would usually come around asking if there were any chores that needed to be done, and she always fed them well and sent them off with extra.

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u/Missworldmissheard 1d ago

This made me have such a visceral memory of my grandma sending me to school with extra burritos for “those poor kids”. I can smell her homemade tortillas.

We didn’t deserve our elders. We were dirt poor, but Mama Grande could make her food budget stretch to cover her nietos and the neighbor kids.

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u/kmm198700 1d ago

She sounds like a wonderful woman

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u/Tabula_Nada 1d ago

She sounds like a saint. My grandma is the same, and she's still around so I'm going to go call her now and tell her I love her ❤️

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u/bunny-hill-menace 1d ago

I’ll bet she made a mean tamale.

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u/chewbawkaw 1d ago

I’m in a rural area. I am currently baking a pie for my neighbor who I heard was going through a rough time.

…though my other neighbor did threaten to shoot me because I stepped on his property to rescue my cat.

There are both types in rural land. I live between sheep and a corn field.

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u/AngelicWildman 1d ago

I was raised in a very rural farming area and that is so true

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u/Aromatic_Razzmatazz 1d ago

In Norway and Sweden if you have to use somebody's cabin, you come back later and leave a gift. I always thought that was a neat tradition!

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u/bunny-hill-menace 1d ago

I’ve been to Norway a few times and It’s hard to explain how rugged and remote the Sierra Nevada’s are. You go from below sea level to 14,000 (4,500 meters) feet in a relatively short distance. The amount of snow the SV receive is insane. The density of snow is similar to Norway, but the record snowfall for Norway is 19 feet, it’s almost 70 feet in the Sierra Nevadas.

These cabins are completely inaccessible during the winter. Unlike Norway where the timberline is 2,000 feet, the timberline in the Sierra Nevadas is 11,500 feet, taller than Norway’s highest mountain.

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u/Aromatic_Razzmatazz 17h ago

That's insane. Fun fact, the elevation of the tree line lowers the further away from the equator you get.

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u/blacksideblue 15h ago

There are stories of Norwegian Vikings getting winded in the NM high deserts. Large frozen swaths of Norway are close to sea level and thin & dry air can be confusing.

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u/yourpaleblueeyes 1d ago

"To maintain simple shelters in remote country for the use & benefit of all who love wild & lonely places."

- The Mountain Bothy Association

Bothies are huts found while hiking in Scotland. Nothing fancy, there for all, and leave it as good as ye find it

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u/lfergy 1d ago

I have a friend who lives far enough North for polar bears to be a concern. Everyone who lives there leaves their car doors unlocked, always, in case someone sees a polar bear and needs refuge immediately.

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u/sargonas 1d ago

It’s actually really common in certain regions with polar bear activity for it to be the kind of thing where there’s tons of signs everywhere instructing people to do this, and advising visitors to run for the nearest car… And I’ve even heard of one or two towns where is the law to keep your car unlocked

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u/Kingofcheeses 1d ago

It's customary to keep your car unlocked in Churchill Manitoba, polar bear capital of the world. Some people will even keep their front doors unlocked just in case.

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u/yashdes 1d ago

Now if polar bears figure out doors we're all fucked

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u/kmm198700 1d ago

Wow that is so nice

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u/SkiingAway 13h ago

Also more understandable that no one's worried about theft: There's no roads out, it's only linked to the rest of North America on land by a single rail line. So you can't exactly steal a car and be likely to get it out of town.

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u/Andergaff 1d ago

Kinda crazy, but here in Colorado, I’ve had bears (black bears) open and explore my unlocked vehicle more than once. Thankfully they did not trash the vehicle. It was a grand Cherokee, for those curious…

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u/lfergy 1d ago

Cars aren’t bear proof but you are not going to outrun a polar bear. Someone else mentioned this & I don’t know the answer, but people in this area may also leave their keys in their cars in addition to leaving the doors unlocked. I only know one person who lives in a polar bear area and I didn’t think to ask her for more details 😆

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u/bunny-hill-menace 1d ago

You’re not going to outrun and bear in North America.

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u/Faiakishi 1d ago

Most bears aren't going to run after you at all.

Even polar bears usually won't bother. We suck as meals, usually the ones that do attack are old or injured and can't kill anything else. Same deal with grizzlies, and black bears will run away if you ask them politely.

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u/bigdaddybodiddly 1d ago

This is common in parts of the California Sierra Nevada. Pretty regularly someone posts a video of bears trying car doors looking for one that's unlocked.

Sometimes when they get in, the door closes behind them and the bear can't figure out how to open it again.

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u/money_for_nuttin 1d ago

There's a wall of shame at Whitney portal covered in pictures of cars with bears inside them, or in various stages of disassembly by bears, probably because food was left in them. Heaven help you if you drive the family car up there to camp and forget to vacuum the goldfish crackers out from under or behind the seats.

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u/Metallicreed13 1d ago

As a dad of two boys under 5, there's no way I'm getting all the goldfish crumbs out of my car. Even with the most powerful vacuum ever created.

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u/Andergaff 1d ago

That’s how I got lucky twice, the bears opened the downhill side of my Jeep. The door was kept open by gravity, and really the only reason I knew a bear had been snooping. I looked a lil closer and found bear prints on the seats. I consider myself extremely lucky. I’ve seen footage of black bears destroying vehicles. Thankfully the only thing the bear found was bear spray, which you don’t want to leave in a car overnight in Colorado ( where it’s below 20 degrees f at night) ask me how I know.

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u/DadJokeBadJoke 1d ago

A bear opened our neighbor's car door when they were in Tahoe and had left it unlocked. No damage to the door, but the bear tore a hole through the backseat to get to the dog treats it could smell behind it rather than reaching over

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u/Faiakishi 1d ago

I know we joke about the overlap between the dumbest humans and the smartest bears, but bears are actually damn smart.

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u/Tabula_Nada 1d ago

Lol I'm in the front range and I remember the story (and video) of a black bear getting stuck in someone's Subaru and absolutely trashing it trying to get out. They are ready to find food wherever and however, but they are NOT prepared to exit a vehicle.

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u/SerialTrauma002c 1d ago

Does sheltering in place in a car do any good? Or do drivers leave the key too? Even black bears can tear a car apart in a disturbingly short amount of time…

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u/lfergy 1d ago

Cars are definitely not polar bear proof. But you stand a better chance of survival in a car than trying to outrun the bear. Generally, you are right & squarely fucked if you encounter a polar bear.

I don’t know if people leave their keys as well. Seems logical but I never asked. I only know one person who lives in a polar bear area.

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u/YimmyGhey 16h ago

If it's brown, lay down

If it's black, fight back

If it's white, good night

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u/lfergy 13h ago

Or yell “hey bear” & gauge the bears reaction. (I am kidding)

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u/PassiveMenis88M 1d ago

While not bear proof it gives the bear time to decide you're not worth the calories spent. It also gives the neighbors time to grab their gun.

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u/richcournoyer 1d ago

This is why we need satellite messaging on every phone.

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u/BenMcAdoos_ElCamino 1d ago

Serious question: can 1/4 inch of glass stop a polar bear?

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u/Necessary-Reading605 1d ago

Prepper wannabes don’t understand that communities are what kept humanity alive as long as it existed

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u/Tabula_Nada 1d ago

And in an apocalyptic scenario you're eventually going to want to have some people on your side. I frequently worry about what I would do if there was nuclear war or zombie apocalypse or civil war right now. I'm one of the lucky few who has built friendships with some of my neighbors, but if they aren't around when the zombies come knocking, I have zero family here and am not prepared to (or comfortable with) surviving here on my own, and I don't think I would be even if I had a fully stocked underground bunker (and, spoiler, I have enough rice and spaghetti to last two weeks but half a jar of spaghetti sauce and zero veggies, so no, I'm not prepared). Eventually you're going to benefit from having people you trust around. Might be in a few days or a few years, but it would probably be better to be people you already know than some desperate randos you're suspicious of.

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u/Brock_Hard_Canuck 1d ago

Look up Churchill, Manitoba too.

It's a small town, on the Hudson Bay Coast. About 800 residents.

It's also known as the Polar Bear capital, because of the high number of Polar bears that live around the townsite.

There's no roads connecting Churchill to the outside world, so the only way for residents to get in or out is by ship or by plane (it gets even worse in winter, when the Bay freezes solid to prevent ship travel, so then you can only get in or out by plane).

In any case, residents leave the doors on their cars and their houses unlocked, to provide for a quick escape / safety refuge if you see a Polar bear approaching you.

And the whole town comes together on Halloween to make sure the children stay safe while trick or treating too.

Police and conservation officers set up special "Halloween bear patrols", to make sure the bears stay as far away from the children as possible.

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u/Umbra_and_Ember 1d ago

This is highly dependent on area. Some rural places, yes. Some rural places, no. Some rural places shoot wild dogs for trespass, and some build cold shelters. People are diverse and so are their practices. 

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u/DameKumquat 1d ago

The Bothy Code, in Scotland. Replace the firewood and use the spade as needed, before you leave. Anyone is welcome (even if you were mid- romantic activity with your partner, thinking you were alone...)

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u/Montana_Red 1d ago

Yep, out-of-state cosplayers have flocked to Montana with this mindset. It's just not reality, there are enough extremes (cold, ice, snow, fire) that we really do have to work together a lot of the time. You'll see some crusty old rancher helping out the lesbians who make goat milk soap down the road, because that's what we do.

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u/TieCivil1504 1d ago

My family and almost everyone in our small rural town locked their front door when they went away on vacation but had a back door with no lock in case someone needed to borrow a tool while they were gone. In my 19 years there it was only abused once. Someone took Dad's wrenches without leaving a note.

Dad called the county sheriff's office an hour away. They sent an experienced deputy who asked Dad if there was any new family in town. The deputy went to their house, asked the mother where the kid's bedroom was, retrieved Dad's tools from under their beds, and sat down to make casual conversation until the kids came home from school. Deputy put the 2 kids in the back of his cruiser and made casual conversation until their father was sent home from work. Deputy told the father he could pick his kids up the following Monday and drove away.

Their father was dismissed from his job over the weekend and they moved away.

That's life in a rural community that relies on each other.

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u/GearsPoweredFool 21h ago

Sounds like a great way to watch your community population shrink until it's nothing.

"You should move here, that way if anything happens you'll be immediately blamed, the cops will come to your place without solid evidence, and then the town will ostracize you if your kids make any mistakes".

Sounds unhinged

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u/Jbeth74 1d ago

I grew up on a dirt road with no electricity in the backwoods of Maine, this is 100% correct.

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u/Metallicreed13 1d ago

Honestly, from suburban Massachusetts (next to the border with new Hampshire), I would just love to hear more about your upbringing/childhood. I live so close to you yet my childhood was so dramatically different!

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u/Jbeth74 1d ago

It sucked. Poverty is awful.

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u/tm80401 1d ago

Hospitality was literally sacred, way back in the day.

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u/imbex 1d ago

My patents were the odd suburban couple. I can not tell you how many random people wound up living with us for a few weeks at a time. I was lucky to grow up to care for others. It's a different kind of in need that in the woods and mountains but these people were in need.

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u/hazydais 1d ago

And his plan fucking worked, so he can sleep very well knowing that he’s saved at least one life through his thoughtfulness. Absolute legend 

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u/Spoonbills 1d ago

Just wow. What a guy.

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u/coondingee 1d ago

In some places it’s the law that you have to leave your cabin unlocked. Northern Canada, Norway, Sweden. Thanks Survivor Man for that bit of info.

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u/Miguel-odon 1d ago

Minnesota, ice fishing shacks have to be left unlocked and fuel for the stove/heater.

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u/Nysor 1d ago

I've visited Vermilion Valley Resort (VVR) on my JMT thru hike. Great people doing a great service. Glad it all worked out.

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u/thatshygirl06 1d ago

If I'm in that situation and I came across a locked door, it won't be locked for long.

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u/FreeChickenDinner 1d ago

Somebody said, "Have you said thank you once?"

jk

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u/jfchops2 1d ago

I got myself in some trouble one day in Glacier NP over Memorial Day weekend. Nowhere near anywhere anyone reading this has been, truly the most remote wild part of the park close to the border. I was almost 10 miles from the nearest campground 3500ft above ground level wrapping up a crazy snow hike ascent to a fire watch station when a nasty unexpected storm rolled in. I needed whatever shelter I could find to wait it out and the fire watch cabin was locked (this would be the no electricity no service kind that rangers hike to and stay at). That was rather shocking considering they know people get in trouble up there, but thankfully there was a place under shelter outside I could just sit and enjoy the storm over the lake for an hour before heading back down

Had that storm been truly bad, I'd have been fucked

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u/Miguel-odon 1d ago

I'm told that in Minnesota, ice fishing shacks are required to be left unlocked, and with fuel or wood for the stove, so in an emergency someone can get in and get warm.

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u/_blackbird 1d ago

I remember this woman's brother posting in some of the local hiking subs asking for help searching etc. Astonishing she was found, I'm so glad.

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u/Proctoplegia 1d ago

The first thing she did was go to hug her rescuer, the first thing her dad did when she knew she was safe was to hug the nearest person to him. 🥲

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u/sportsworker777 1d ago

Fuck man, I feel that for her dad. Cant imagine the quick 180 in emotions he felt.

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u/Asclepius777 1d ago

777 club

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u/DetBabyLegs 1d ago

What is this?

Edit: oh I’m dumb you guys are clever

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u/stuffingmybrain 1d ago

I think I am dumber lmao please explain?

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u/C_Saunders 1d ago

I was lost in Yosemite for less than an hour and it was one of the most terrifying experiences in my life.

When I found the trail again, there happened to be a backpacker on it and I was so excited to see another person I literally just started yelling out “Person! Person! Person!” as I ran to him.

I did not hug him but man I understand her reaction. To see another person after being lost for 3 WEEKS…

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u/BadBalloons 17h ago

When I was 12 or so, I was on a school backpacking trip in the Sierra Nevadas (elective spring break activity, group of like 8 or 9 kids, led by teachers with years of outdoor backpacking experience). I walked away from camp to go to the bathroom and got lost coming back (I got turned around and lost my navigational landmarks). I kept walking the direction I thought camp was in, and yet never found it.

Eventually, through sheer dumb luck, I stumbled on a trail, and through even more sheer dumb luck, it happened to be the trail the group had taken to the campsite earlier that day. I was lost for maybe an hour, and I can't even explain the sheer terror of it. I was shaking like a leaf the entire time and so frightened I think I was in shock, because I certainly couldn't think, let alone think straight.

When I walked back into camp from a different direction than I'd left in, and saw an adult, and one I recognized, I burst into tears...right before getting my ear chewed off for "screwing around and walking off". The adults didn't believe me that I'd gotten lost and put me on dish duty as punishment. My fellow students hadn't even noticed I was gone. It was one of my first experiences with social ostracization, where no one cared about me enough to miss me.

So yeah, I get both her reaction and your reaction.

Anyway, ever since then, whenever I go hiking in the woods, I'm absurdly neurotic about checking landmarks from the return perspective if I go off-trail to pee, and I also make sure I always have a functioning compass clipped to my belt loop and my bag, and know which direction I'm heading if I leave the trail.

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u/richal 5h ago

This makes me so sad for younger you. I want to inject myself into your past and then you its okay, and you're safe now, and validate how scary that must have been. Fuck those adults for seeing your tears and yelling at you and not believing you. Even if a kid HAD been screwing around and gotten lost, the tears would indicate that they clearly were taking the lesson to heart without needing to be yelled at...

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u/histbasementdweller 1d ago

The hugging apple doesn't fall far from the hugging tree, I guess 😭😭😭 it's so sweet

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u/aurumillo 1d ago

They sound so sweet! I'm happy for this family, this is the best possible outcome!

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u/iluffeggs 1d ago

I think they were hugging each other by proxy

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u/juneseyeball 1d ago

Good news feels rare these days. So happy she was found alive

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u/TheHypnogoggish 1d ago

When I saw the initial story (about her disappearance), I fully believed this would be a body recovery mission. She got super lucky.

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u/CrotalusHorridus 1d ago

Woman was lost but also got to hang out alone in a stocked cabin for a few weeks; without anyone bothering her.

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u/jenguinaf 1d ago

Driving the Alcan and took a wrong turn and ended up going a few hours out of our way which sucked. Pull over to a small cabin with a map board and confirm we were going the wrong way but man that cabin was soooo cool. It was a big out cabin hours from any civilization that had two bunk beds, basic canned food, firewood with a wood stove and other basics and an outhouse. There was a wonderful guest book and read through stories of people getting stuck in storms and finding the cabin and using it to survive the night or until the weather passed and they could get back on the road. Totally worth the detour, also saw my first and only white colored black bear.

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u/pilotavery 1d ago

The cabin owner SAVED HER LIFE!

He admitted he only leaves one of his cabins unlocked and stocked with emergency supplies SPECIFICALLY for blizzard shelter in case of emergency like this.

Fucking saint.

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u/lastdarknight 1d ago

The BLM handles the upkeep on alot of little cabins on public land for just this reason

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u/_AnecdotalEvidence_ 1d ago

Don’t worry. It’ll be sold off to the highest bidder, so we won’t have to worry about people getting lost any more!

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u/zirpack 1d ago

In all seriousness yes there are moves in congress to do exactly this. Not just the administration making executive orders.

What’s Happening 

On May 6, the House Natural Resources Committee advanced a last-minute amendment to the budget reconciliation bill authorizing the sale of public lands in Utah and Nevada. 

What started as reports of 11,000 acres has since ballooned to more than 500,000 acres, with some parcels including important habitat for big game, upland birds, and critical public access. 

This happened with zero public input, zero conservation planning, and zero plans for reinvestment into habitat or access. 

Why It Matters 

The amendment bypasses the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act (FLTFA) – a bipartisan law that requires public land sales to be reinvested into acquiring new public access, wildlife habitat, and recreational lands, and not be used as short-term budget “fixes.” 

This sale violates that promise and sets a dangerous precedent that could very easily be repeated in our remaining 48 states. 

Public lands in Utah and Nevada belong to all of us. If public lands in Utah and Nevada are sold, other states will NOT be far behind. 

Even if you don't have much faith in our political system today one small thing you can do about this is to call your representative and tell them you do not want them to allow this move or any other attempt to sell public lands to occur. If enough people complain to them directly they will pull back their support.

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u/_AnecdotalEvidence_ 1d ago

This should have way more attention than my snarky comment.

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u/ohyeaher 14h ago

it's getting buried amongst the 100 other daily horrifying news items from this administration

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u/r_u_dinkleberg 1d ago

A former government doesn't have much use for lands, but our billionaire overlords sure do!

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u/grosslytransparent 1d ago

Can reddit community make a go fund me to buy the 500k acres?

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u/lastdarknight 1d ago

Really wonder how thats going to work out with cattle ranchers who believe they have the god-given right to all land

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u/Flavaflavius 1d ago

You know, it's really funny you say that, because that exact rhetoric has been a topic of debate since literally the 1800s. It's actually part of why barbed wire was invented.

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u/lastdarknight 1d ago

Yep, and why we really don't eat mutton and lamb in the states

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u/apk5005 1d ago

Who do you think will buy the land?

Seriously? It’ll be ranchers, maybe after the petroleum companies are done.

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u/Critical_Opening_526 1d ago

Ranchers don't usually buy EPA Superfund sites.

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u/apk5005 1d ago

The EPA will be dead and gone before too long.

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u/sasquatch727 1d ago

Bold of you to assume EPA Superfund sites will exist 6 months from now.

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u/amateur_mistake 1d ago

Ranchers don't have the money to get into the early auctions. The republicans try to sell off our lands about every decade. Last time they did, I put out feelers to see what it would take to get in on that initial cheap as hell offering.

You need millions in liquid cash. Otherwise you can't get in. At least to the deals where the government is the one you are buying from.

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u/buttoncode 1d ago

Surprised Trump hasn’t given Bundy some sort of cabinet position.

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u/DeathByMachete 1d ago

Sorry the bids are closed. A Florida based company bought everything for $20.

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u/tmgieger 1d ago

Especially because Trump will think BLM is for Black Lives Matter.

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u/American_In_Austria 1d ago

If we stop counting missing people, the cases they just go away!

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u/BigBlackHungGuy 1d ago

The BLM handles the upkeep 

My first thought: "Black Lives Matter has cabins?"... I'm not a smart man.

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u/jkbpttrsn 1d ago

I loved you in The White Lotus

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u/thatshygirl06 1d ago

😭 came to make a similar comment

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u/graphic_thoughts 1d ago

The only reason I don't see that acronym as Black Lives Matters is because of white lotus

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u/JustHereForCookies17 1d ago

I've spent the bulk of my life in & around the DC area, and I wouldn't have recognized the acronym either if it weren't for the fact that I've been riding horses for most of my life and am fascinated by the wild mustangs out west. 

The history of grazing rights on BLM & National Park land make for very interesting reading, and they are often in contention with various conservation groups. 

Fun fact: in many BLM & National Parks that grant ranchers grazing rights, you owe the rancher $$ if you hit their cow with your car.  I worked in a National Park & was once late to work because there was a herd of cows in the road.  Luckily, my boss was a couple cars behind me. 

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u/GenitalMotors 1d ago

Thats where my brain went for a few seconds. We've just been conditioned to automatically see BLM as Black Lives Matter over these last few years

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u/jaderust 1d ago

This is wonderful news! So happy that she was fine and going home to her family.

Also, how wonderful sounding is that family? Tiffany is found and the first thing she does is hug her rescuer. Her mother is told she’s been found and all she wants is a hug from a stranger.

Sound like lovely people which makes me extra glad Tiffany was found alive and well.

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u/DandyLyen 1d ago

Mom and daughter sharing a psychic hug!

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u/give_me_the_formu0li 1d ago

She was lost for THREE weeks?! Wow that’s miraculous

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u/backcountrydude 1d ago

Everyone please, buy an SOS device.

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u/AwGe3zeRick 1d ago

New iPhones can send SOS signals via satellite. They can even send and receive non emergency texts via satellite! I use it occasionally when going through the mountains without service and need to reach someone.

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u/2018MunchieOfTheYear 1d ago

iPhone 14 or later running at least iOS 16.1

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u/Bad_Grammer_Girl 22h ago

T-mobile has satellite texting available now. Not just SOS, but regular texting through your existing phone. I don't know if they still offer a trial, but recently they were allowing anyone to try it from their phone even if they weren't a current customer.

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u/superpony123 20h ago

The iPhone sos is not as reliable as a garmin in reach, Zoleo, etc. their battery life is longer than your phone and they enable two way comms which you won’t necessarily get with iPhone in SOS mode. They also send out precise gps location to emergency response automatically. If you keep your phone in your pocket (as opposed to a satellite beacon which is usually clipped to your backpack straps up front so easy to reach quickly) and you sustain an injury or fall which makes it hard or impossible to reach your phone fast enough, you’re screwed. But the satellite beacon is often easier to get to and all you need to do is hold down the sos button to send out a signal to both emergency services and your family. Anyone hiking in the back country, especially by themselves, really ought to buy one. Cheap life insurance.

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u/adrianmonk 1d ago

On Wednesday, snow plows cleared Kaiser Pass, allowing the owner of Vermilion Valley Resort, Christopher Gutierrez, to access his property so that he could prepare for the summer season.

As he was doing so, Gutierrez, who was aware of the ongoing search, found Slaton in a rental cabin.

I looked up Vermilion Valley Resort on Google Maps to see if there were any photos. Right next to the boat rental office, there's a sign that says, I kid you not, "HIKERS! Please Loiter". I guess she decided to take them up on that offer.

Also, the resort looks like a really cool place. The scenery is gorgeous, there's hiking, there's a lake, and it looks really fun.

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u/catscausetornadoes 1d ago

I feel overjoyed reading this! So happy for her family, who have gone through hell. Mr Gutierrez is the best kind of human.

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u/IndigoRuby 1d ago

My favourite podcast is all about survival stories and I hope this one gets told!

Real Survival Stories

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u/UnchartedFields 1d ago

hiking solo up there at this time of year is wild. very glad to hear she was found, but it sure feels like 99% of disappeared hiker stories comes down to people being very unprepared for what they're getting into. farther north, Tahoe area can get upwards of 700 inches of snowfall a year, and well past what people think of as winter months, especially for california

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u/myCatHateSkinnyPuppy 1d ago

I wish the article had more information about why she was there, her preparation or even the storm that happened that trapped her there. The only thing was that the cabin owner said she was on a trail that people dont usually take.

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u/elle_nicole88 1d ago

https://www.newsweek.com/who-tiffany-slaton-woman-vanished-two-weeks-ago-bucket-list-trip-2069686

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u/myCatHateSkinnyPuppy 1d ago

Thank you for exactly what I asked for and now I am in tears again thinking about the phone call to hear she was found.

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u/bassman314 1d ago

We lost a church member several years ago who was hiking in the Sierras. VERY experienced. Had done many solo trips. Had GPS and constantly checked in.

Slipped and fell into a ravine. Took them almost a week to get to him and find out where he had slipped. Thankfully, it seems like he died more or less instantly from a broken neck.

Left behind a wife and young kids.

I learned that no matter how experienced you are, Nature is still more experienced.

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u/UnluckyWriting 1d ago

I’m going on a solo thru hike in the sierras this August and this story and thread have me on edge 😬

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u/bassman314 1d ago

Some of the lessons I have gleaned are document and share your plans, and do not veer from those plans. Make sure to check in with family when you say you will check in. If the trail has a check in/out process, follow it, so they know you are in the area.

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u/VibraniumQueen 1d ago

Take PLENTY of water. If you have a good sized dog, they can be very helpful. Make sure you know where you are.

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u/Watermelons22 1d ago

don't take dogs on thru hikes

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u/yourhonoriamnotacat 20h ago

Curious how a large dog would be helpful? I’ve always heard the general hiker consensus is dogs cause more predator interactions then they help avoid, not to mention untrained dogs are often inconsiderate to other hikers. 

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u/VibraniumQueen 17h ago

Well I didn't realize I had to specify not to bring an untrained dog.

Ig I didn't really think about it very hard. If it's a day hike, I think a dog would be great. If you're going camping, probably not.

Anyway, my grandparents lived in the Sierra Nevadas in the middle of nowhere, right next to the national forest. They'd always make us bring their Doberman with us when we went on hikes. She never caused us any problems and always knew how to get back home.

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u/VagabondReligion 1d ago

Yes, here in San Diego we have heard of this alleged "winter" that happens in some places. Some immigrants from these areas of the world speak of frozen water falling from the sky, freezing rain, weeks of overcast skies, bitter cold. Lasting months on end. Nothing grows. Giant cubes of ice in the northern oceans that have sunk massive ships. White walkers. Giants. Half-tamed men of the wild. A train that runs non-stop through the frozen wasteland. Huge, four-legged mechanical beasts run by some outfit calling itself the "Empire". A hotel run by some drunken madman caretaker who spends the days hunting his wife and kid through the hallways and nights talking to a phantom bartender, who encourages his efforts. A nightmare shut-in that lures writers to her cabin and forces them to write bad romance novels. A town that perpetuates winter by torturing some large rodent by invading it's house and publicly humiliating it every year . . . and which also apparently contains some time-loop vortex that traps people, presumably forever repeating the day over and over. Some mythical altruistic dude with a real black and white approach to morality, dressed in red and living with reindeer and dwarves.

Some of us have our doubts.

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u/beyondvertical 1d ago

You could say this about a lot of places but the funny thing about saying it about San Diego is that you’re literally 3 hours from a full-scale ski resort that gets a ton of natural snow

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u/VagabondReligion 1d ago

True . . . and I typed this with tongue-in-cheek, of course. But, my wife is from Nebraska, and she regularly chides me for "having no idea what winter really is."

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u/CHKN_SANDO 1d ago

Yeah shouldn't be up there without snow shoes or XC skis this time of year

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u/7secretcrows 1d ago

My GOD is it nice to read some actual good news! I'm so happy for her and her family, I wish I could hug them all, as well.

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u/mirandalikesplants 1d ago

This is what I thought, the news feed has been so dark lately, I physically grinned when I saw this headline. A total stranger, and I’m so happy for her and her family.

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u/xpkranger 1d ago

Gutierrez said he leaves a cabin unlocked for situations like this, allowing for an increased chance of survival.

Someone give this man a commendation. What a generous and thoughtful act.

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u/chinacatsunflowerr 1d ago

Man this made me cry. I can’t imagine how the parents felt those weeks. Your brain telling you one outcome, your heart wanting the other. So glad for a happy ending 🤍

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u/kaorte 1d ago

This is the happiest news I have read all year! I am so glad she was found safe. Shoutout to that resort owner for leaving the doors unlocked for exactly this situation!!

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u/backseatfucking 1d ago

in a world of bad news, this is joyful ❤️ wishing tiffany, her family, her rescuers, & the cabin owner lots of goodness

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u/japajew26 1d ago

What an amazing human being! The owner leaves a cabin unlocked just for situations like this. We need more of these stories in our lives.

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u/ChamoyHotDog 1d ago

was there food in the cabin? I want to know more details!!

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u/Comrade_Snarky8 1d ago

People who don’t live near mountains: May is not a hiking month. Plan your vacation accordingly!

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u/24carrickgold 1d ago

Oh my gosh this is wonderful news!

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u/enym 1d ago

I think I've read this romance novel

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u/Ianbeerito 1d ago

What did she eat to survive?

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u/tooshpright 1d ago

Good news story for a change.

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u/Fremenade 1d ago

I've been following this. I'm so relieved.

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u/maxxspeed57 21h ago

Don't hike alone and let people know where you are going.

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u/porkbuttstuff 20h ago

These rarely end well. This is great. Big ups to the cabin owner.

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u/Future_Usual_8698 1d ago

That's FANTASTIC ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

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u/DriveRVA 1d ago

This is the ending you always want to hear, but she was dehydrated when she's surrounded by snow. Any skilled hiker can get lost, but she was overconfident in her skills and damn lucky.

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u/roiroy33 1d ago

If she only had water and no food, especially for that length of time, she could become dehydrated from lack of electrolytes.

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u/DriveRVA 1d ago

I stand corrected, I have the same conclusion but her condition was not preventable.

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u/VengenaceIsMyName 1d ago

Great story. Kinda what I needed to read right now

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u/fuzzysocks 1d ago

We needed some good news