Deputies in northern California say they rescued a woman who had been stranded in the snow for six days surviving only on snow and a six-pack of yogurt.
On Monday, April 18, 2022, at approximately 2:30 a.m., Lassen County Sheriff’s deputies received a report of a person possibly stranded in a remote area of Lassen County near Little Valley.
The reporting party, Justin Lonich, 48, of Little Valley, California, told deputies he and his friend, Sheena Gullett, 52, also from Little Valley, were driving to Little Valley on dirt roads off of Highway 44 on Thursday, April 14.
After driving several miles, their vehicle became stuck in the snow. They spent the night in their vehicle, and in the morning, the vehicle’s battery had died.
The two began walking back to Highway 44 but became separated and were unable to locate each other because of heavy snowfall.
After two days, Justin was able to reach the highway where he contacted the Lassen County Sheriff's Office.
From the time Justin reported this incident, Sheriff’s deputies, sergeants, detectives, and US Forest Service personnel conducted ground searches every day. On one day, when the weather was clear, the California Highway Patrol flew the search area in a helicopter in conjunction with a ground search team, but they were unable to locate the vehicle or Sheena.
In the afternoon hours of Wednesday, April 20, after searching for several hours, the Sheriff’s sergeant located the vehicle. Immediately upon his arrival, Sheena came out of the vehicle where she was very emotional, but physically okay.
During the six days Sheena was stranded, she rationed a six-pack of yogurt, eating one per day. She did not have any water and had been eating snow.
(Lassen County Sheriff's Office)
