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 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?