Shocking twist in case of California woman who disappeared from mining camp for two weeks

A Sacramento woman who went missing from a mining camp last month was found “severely dehydrated” and starving, but alive, in the desert.

Esmeralda Marie Pineda, 24, was last seen at a mining camp near the Middle Fork of the Yuba River and Sweetland Creek in Nevada on the morning of August 26.

Rescue teams conducted an exhaustive search for two weeks.

Ultimately, Nevada County Sheriff’s Office deputies found Pineda “severely dehydrated and emaciated” on the edge of the canyon near the Yuba River and Sweetland Creek.

Sergeant Dustin Moe said search crews only noticed her when she sat up and looked in their direction.

“She had difficulty speaking, so we didn’t want to pressure her to talk and we didn’t want to draw out any unnecessary energy she had left,” the official said. saying.

Nevada City is located just over 60 miles north of Sacramento, where Pineda is from.

Less than an hour after she was found, Pineda was airlifted from the canyon by the California Highway Patrol and taken to a hospital for treatment.

Authorities have not clarified the severity of his injuries.

The missing victim had been camping with three friends in the canyon along the Middle Yuba River when he wanted to return home.

But when her friends woke up the next day, they realized she had disappeared.

“So her friends went looking for her during that day and they couldn’t find any sign that she had made it out,” Moe said. saying.

She is also told that there are no trail systems in the Middle Fork area where she was found, which is why people generally avoid the area.

Asked how he thinks Pineda could have survived for nearly two weeks, he replied: “Who knows? I mean, maybe he had good survival instincts. He was lucky and managed to survive those 12 days.”