Camper Missing 3 Weeks Survived 'Solely Off of Leeks'

A camper who vanished almost three weeks ago during a blizzard in California's Sierra Nevada mountain range reportedly managed to survive alone in a cabin, eating only leeks—until a snowplow cleared a path that brought the property owner to her door. "Dad, I'm alive," 28-year-old Tiffany Slaton announced in a phone call home to Georgia, per NBC News. She was found Wednesday afternoon in the cabin at the Vermilion Valley Resort near Lake Edison, according to the Fresno County Sheriff's Office. Authorities said the property owner kept the cabin unlocked in the rare event someone became stranded and needed to take shelter. That exact scenario played out with Slaton.

Her parents hadn't heard from her for nine days when they reported her missing on April 29. Known to be on a solo camping trip through the region, Slaton was last seen at a convenience store near Shaver Lake, some 45 miles from where she was ultimately discovered, on April 24, per KFSN and USA Today. The sheriff's office searched 600 square miles of mountains between May 6 and 10, finding no sign of Slaton. However, search and rescue personnel were prevented from taking Kaiser Pass Road, a high mountain pass through the Sierra National Forest, because it was packed with snow. The road was only cleared on Wednesday. As property owner Christopher Gutierrez prepared to ready his land for summer, he realized there was a woman in his cabin.

"She pops out, didn't say a word, just ran up, and all she wanted was a hug," Gutierrez tells NBC. "From what she told us, there was a blizzard and she pushed through that blizzard and the first thing she saw was a cabin," he said, adding that Slaton told him she survived "solely off of leeks." She "was dehydrated, but was otherwise in good condition," and taken to a hospital "for further treatment and observation," the sheriff's office said. Slaton's parents were overjoyed. "This has to be the third or fourth best day of our lives after our children's birth," her father tells NBC. Her mom says it was a birthday gift for Slaton, who turned 28 on Thursday, per KFSN. (More rescue stories.)