A teenager wandered through the woods in Washington, U.S for two days in search of help after she survived a plane crash.
KOMO News reports that Autumn Veatch was flying with two step-grandparents from Montana to Lynden, Washington on Saturday, but the small, private plane never arrived after what was supposed to be a three-hour flight.
Search crews were formed on Sunday after the ground crew lost contact with the plane. As of today, the plane and Leland Bowman, 62, and Sharon Bowman, 63 remain missing.
Speaking to CNN, Okanogan County Sheriff Frank Rogers said:
Autumn did not tell us the condition of her grandparents, but it doesn’t sound good. It doesn’t sound like they made it.
Autumn said they flew out of the clouds, and then flew into the side of a mountain. She was able to get out, and she spent the night by a river before hiking to the highway, where she was rescued.
Veatch’s father said that his daughter tried to help her grandparents out of the plane, but couldn’t. She waited for rescuers near the crash site for about a day, crying, before hiking downward and eventually reaching a trail that led to Highway 20.
According to authorities, the “traumatised” Veatch was found Monday afternoon by a driver in northern Washington state, who took Veatch to a local store, where employees called 911.
Autumn was dehydrated and developed rhabdomyolysis, a muscle disorder, during her ordeal, but reportedly suffered no life threatening injuries.
David Veatch confirmed to King 5 that the teen was being taken to a hospital for treatment of her injuries, but posted on Facebook that his daughter was okay.
Autumn is ok!!
Posted by David Veatch on Monday, July 13, 2015
Crews are continuing to look for the plane, using mobile phone data to pinpoint the aircraft’s last known location, although the mountainous terrain is making their job difficult.
