After her mysterious disappearance last month, a missing teenage girl from Washington was found alive in the Cascade Mountain Woods, Saturday.
According to authorities, the teenager, identified as Giovanna Fuda has been missing for 9 days mysteriously leaving her home on July 24, without telling her folks were she was headed. The following day, her abandoned car was found along a highway near Stevens Pass. The pass is approximately two hours away from her home in Maple Valley.
The police also stated that her car was found out of gas and it seemed like she ran out of fuel around 10 miles away from the nearest gasoline station.
In a report by NBC News, Ryan Abbott, the spokesperson from the King County sheriff's office, told reporters that finding the 18-year-old on the ninth day since she was reported missing was some kind of miracle. He explained that such a situation is very rare and that they were thrilled to find her alive after disappearing for more than a week.
Fuda's disappearance was initially described by authorities as suspicious since most of her belongings were found in the car including overnight bags, her purse, and wallet. However, the authorities were not able to find her phone. During the search operations, hours of surveillance video were combed through by the detectives, while search and rescue on the ground were conducted by hundreds of volunteers.
Moreover, Abbott also stated cell service was not available in a large part of the search area, thus, it was difficult to locate Fuda's whereabouts using the GPS of her phone. Also, the dense brush made using a helicopter in the search operations impossible.
Finding Giovanna
After more than a week of searching, a bloodhound was able to track the teenager's scent in the woods. The rescue team immediately searched the area where they found Fuda's shoes, clothing, and notebook near a creek. Fuda was found shortly after finding her belongings. When authorities found her two miles up a steep ravine, the teenager was conscious and alert, however, she was incoherent.
According to USA Today, when she was found, Fuda had no food with her as stated by the authorities. They also added that it was very likely that she drank water from the creek in order to survive.
Meanwhile, a family friend identified as Jeff White told reporters that Fuda ate berries in the woods in order to stay alive. White also stated that they were very concerned that they were going to leave the mountains without Fuda since it was the last day of the search operations. HE expressed that the family of Fuda was horrified by the possibility.
On the other hand, Fuda's disappearance is still being investigated, but Abbott stated that it was likely that the teenager got lost while looking for a source of gas. He also added that Fuda has already reunited with her family, she was taken to a local hospital for treatment and is now in stable condition.
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