PROVO, Utah – A missing person from Utah was found after months of searching, but it turns out she never wanted to be found in the first place. Rather than being lost out in the forest, the 47-year-old woman was choosing to live in the wild.
She had been pronounced missing for five months. The woman had gone in the Diamond Fork portion of Utah’s Spanish Fork Canyon. A drone was sent into the area in the hopes of finding the camper or any sign of life.
The drone crashed, but luckily it landed in the perfect spot. The pilot of the drone and a member of the sheriff’s office went to go collect the drone. This is when they found what appeared to be an abandoned tent in the middle of nowhere. As it turns out, the tent was not at all abandoned. Rather, the missing woman emerged from the tent, shocking authorities.
The area where she set up her tent is actually close to where she went missing near Thanksgiving.
Missing Utah Woman Lives Off the Land
According to The Washington Post, authorities described the woman as having “lost a significant amount of weight and was weak.” They also said she was “resourceful.” As it turns out, she had been living off only the grass and moss, as well as water from a nearby river, as sustenance.
“We now believe she knowingly chose to remain in the area over the months since November 2020,” a sheriff’s office release said. In fact, the woman even told authorities that she just “wanted solitude and isolation.”
As of now, the woman is no longer in her campground. Instead, she has been taken to a hospital for a mental health evaluation. Her family has not been able to be contacted. However, coworkers have suggested in the past that she may struggle with mental health-related issues.
Authorities and the media were shocked to learn that the woman was still alive out in the wilderness. Given the length in which she was a missing person and the location she was missing, most people had assumed she has passed away. According to the New York Post, there are currently about 1,600 people missing in the wild somewhere in the United States. More than 600,000 people in the U.S. go missing each year, in the wilderness or not, but between 89% and 92% are found either alive or dead.
Increase in ‘Nomad’ Culture?
One person commented on the Utah County Sheriff’s tweet saying, “Do you think it is the beginning of a ‘Nomad’ craze?” Meanwhile, others were saying that they respected the fact the woman just needed to get away from it all.
“She’s living her best life LOL funny how when we look for solitude they tell us we should be evaluated in our mental health LOL weird,” one wrote.
The Washington Post reported that there are over 1 million Americans who have chosen to live life out of an RV. Many Americans have become infatuated with living off the wild or as close to the wilderness as they can. The idea of living on the road has become all too common in the last couple of years. It is especially popular with the younger generations.
Other people also choose to live in more sustainable living options like tiny homes or campers. But going off into the wilderness can be dangerous, especially without proper preparations.
