Missing California Woman Lost In Zion National Park Without Food For Two Weeks Found Alive

Oct 22, 2020 by apost team

Holly Courtier, a 38-year-old California mom, was lost while exploring Utah's Zion National Park in early October. After nearly two weeks in the wilderness without food or clean water, Courtier has miraculously been found alive.

Courtier's sister Jillian Oliver says that, like many others, Courtier lost her job as a nanny during the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020. What was this energetic, fit, and active mom to do? Instead of falling into self-pity during the quarantine, she decided to start visiting national parks.

She was last seen on surveillance cameras boarding a bus to the park, NBC reported. Courtier is an experienced hiker, and she was familiar with Zion. So, the fact that her family couldn't reach her was an immediate concern. How could this physically fit mom simply disappear into thin air?

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Almost immediately, park rangers contacted the Washington County Sheriff's Department who helped in the search with K9 rescue dogs. According to CNN, guests at Zion were given pamphlets with Courtier's picture on them and told to report back if they saw anything out of the ordinary. The park rangers even used drones to fly over the area in hopes of finding Courtier.

She did not bring her cell phone along, nor had she left an itinerary of her planned route with family members. As the days dragged on with no Courtier in sight, all hope seemed lost.

However, the search went on, even though it now seemed as if this would be a "search and recover" instead of a "search and rescue" mission. Courtier's family still held on to the hope that she would be found.

As time went by and the search continued, rescue workers were close to giving up when Courtier was found near a riverbed. In what can only be described as a miracle, she was alive! She was incredibly weak and dehydrated, but alive!

Courtier could only walk a step or two before she would collapse of sheer exhaustion, and she could not even open her mouth to accept water because she was so dehydrated when she was found. Though the most important issue was that Courtier was alive, questions still remained.

What happened to Courtier and how did she survive for two weeks with absolutely no food and only river water to drink? The family would learn, only after Courtier had been examined in a medical center, the answer to just one of those questions.

It seems Courtier had suffered a head injury resulting in a concussion. She also injured a knee and was severely bruised all over her body. A traumatic accident had obviously happened, and the concussion caused Courtier to become disoriented. Her knee injury meant she could not move to find her way out.

Fate would have it that she would wind up next to a river bed where she was able to drink at least some water. Her family believes her love for her children kept her going for those two weeks in the wild.

Courtier is expected to make a full recovery and her family couldn't be happier, Insider shared. They are forever grateful for all the volunteers who took the time to save her.

If you or someone you know is an avid hiker or adventurer, pass this video with them so they can be better prepared. Let us know what you think by leaving a comment.