Missing woman was ‘miraculously’ found in California’s mountains. Then came the chorus of skeptics

Los Angeles Times ^ | May 22, 2025 8:30 AM PT | Clara Harter

[E. Pluribus Unum]

In the days following missing camper Tiffany Slaton’s rescue from the Sierra National Forest, what began as a heartwarming tale of a woman surviving against all odds has been tinged by a chorus of online skeptics questioning the hiker and her family.

While many have praised the tenacity of the 28-year-old Georgia woman, others have expressed doubts about the veracity of her shocking survival story and have criticized her family’s fundraising motives.

Slaton had set out for a three-day camping trip in the Huntington Lake area on April 20 but wound up surviving three weeks in the wilderness — eating wild leeks and boiling snow melt for potable water — before she was found on May 14 in a cabin near Lake Edison, she said during a Friday news conference.

Slaton said she became lost after she fell off a cliff and was unable to return to the main road due to an avalanche. After the tumble she was unconscious for two hours. When she woke, she splinted one of her legs and popped her other knee back into place.

She proceeded to journey many miles while seeking civilization, overcoming 13 snowstorms and two landslides, she said. Along the way, she lost her electric bike, tent, two sleeping bags and phone.

After she was rescued, medics determined she was dehydrated, but otherwise in good condition, according to the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office.

After the news conference, comments questioning her story began streaming onto the Fresno County Sheriff Office’s social media, news articles about the rescue and a Reddit post dedicated to discussing “odd details” in her story.

“I’m glad to see that other people don’t believe this story. So many things don’t add up, I hope this office investigates fully since resources were...,”

[E. Pluribus Unum]

In the original story I thought she looked far too unstressed to have been through a three week ordeal in the wilderness.

[Red Badger]

Tiffany.........................

[piasa]

Was her leg injured or not? If not, why did she put a splint on it?

[PGR88]

13 snow storms in 21 days???

[Governor Dinwiddie]

She doesn't look earthy crunchy to me. She doesn't even look like an outdoors woman.
She looks like a sharpster and scam artist (among other dark not so subtle "tells").

[ansel12]

A lot of these national rescue stories, especially of females, are about flaky, off-center people who got lost and not only do goofy things to get lost, and then while lost, but are pretty nutty anyway.

[dynachrome]

Too good to be true.

[V_TWIN]

“She looks like a sharpster and scam artist”

What scam would this be.....notoriety?

[yldstrk]

What I thought was weird was that the leeks were found growing in the snow....

[Jamestown1630]

Maybe. She comes across as mentally ill to me.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

What I thought was weird was that the leeks were found growing in the snow....

I caught that too. Didn't sound right.

[MrRelevant]

Go Fund Me for her PTSD in 3….2….1…..

[Bartholomew Roberts]

Looks like a dude to me.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

The fundraiser.

[Jamestown1630]

Apparently there was a Go Fund Me, but her parents closed it - probably after people began doubting her story.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

Exactly!

And she certainly dresses and comports herself like someone who hasn't spent any time outdoors.
She is a gal who has spent her time wandering the trails and wilds of the shopping malls.

[woodbutcher1963]

I watched a movie recently called “Jungle” from 2017.
It was the true story of Yossi Ghinsberg’s 1981 journey into the Amazon rainforest.

He started in Bolivia. He went into the jungle with two other young men and a guide. He and one of the guys decided to return by raft down a river to a village. The other two went back by land through the jungle.

Yossi barely survived. The other rafter was rescued prior to him and helped in his rescue. The other two that walked back were never seen again.

There was one scene where he extracts a worm that had implanted itself in his forehead. It was literally gross and gruesome. The truth was it was not just ONE worm. He had a dozen wounds that became infected/implanted with worms.
However, they thought it would be too gruesome to show on screen.

One of the things the guide had said to convince them to venture into the jungle was that “any tourist can venture to
Machu Pichu. I am going to take you to a place no white man has ever seen before”

[roadcat]

I’ll give her the benefit of doubt, and believe her. She survived, and that’s awesome. She did get lucky, finding an empty unlocked cabin to be sheltered, and caretaker found her. You can survive several weeks without food, and she managed to forage enough to survive.

[roadcat]

And she certainly dresses and comports herself like someone who hasn't spent any time outdoors.

Not true. According to other reports, she is accomplished at foraging in forests and has experience.

[Morgana]

Leeks? so are those like Ramps?