A 72-year-old Mount Shasta woman was found alive on Oct. 4 after spending days missing in rugged terrain near the Siskiyou-Shasta county line, following a fall down a steep embankment that left her badly hurt and unable to speak when rescuers reached her.
Mary Beth Granbery left for a multi-day camping trip on Sept. 28 and was due back Oct. 1, according to the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office. When she failed to show up for work the next day, her family reported her missing.
On Oct. 3, family members found her camper van parked at the Cabin Creek Trailhead in Shasta County. That discovery triggered a joint search operation between the Siskiyou County and Shasta County Sheriff’s Offices, with deputies and search and rescue teams combing the area together.
Ground crews located Granbery near Cabin Creek the following day, Oct. 4. She was alive and conscious but seriously hurt, having fallen down a steep embankment, according to the sheriff’s office. She had suffered a severe knee injury and showed signs of exposure. Rescuers described her as disoriented and nonverbal.
Because of the terrain and her condition, California Highway Patrol Air Operations was called in. A helicopter crew hoisted Granbery from the trail and flew her to a landing zone, where she was transferred to an air ambulance, the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office said.
She was taken to Mercy Medical Center in Redding for treatment.
“[Granbery] is in stable condition, and her injuries are non-life threatening,” the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office said.
Officials credited deputies, search and rescue volunteers, the CHP air crew, and Granbery’s family and friends for the successful outcome.
The case follows another recent rescue of an older solo hiker: Craig Berg, 70, was found alive on Sept. 12 after going missing for about a week during a solo hike on Isle Royale National Park in Michigan. Berg was suffering from hypothermia when Michigan State Police reached him, and a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter crew hoisted him off the island. That search involved land, water and air units, including K-9 teams, drones, seaplanes and a Coast Guard boat.
