Missing Hiker from Huntington Beach Found in Inyo County

HUNTINGTON BEACH (CNS) - A 60-year-old Huntington Beach woman who went missing -- possibly after being chased by a knife-wielding man while walking her dog in the Bristlecone Pine Forest in Inyo County -- was found alive today on the fourth day of an intensive search.

Inyo County sheriff's officials announced shortly after 2 p.m. that Sheryl Powell had been found near the Montenegro Springs area, near the area where her dog had been found earlier in the day.

``Searchers describe her as resilient and strong but exhausted after being lost in an extremely remote area above Big Pine,'' according to the sheriff's office.

She was being taken to a hospital to be checked out.

Powell was reported missing by her husband at about 2 p.m. Friday, Inyo County sheriff's officials said.

Powell's husband told deputies they had just arrived at a campsite and she took their 5-pound, black-and-white dog for a walk while he was parking their Jeep. When he got out of the vehicle, she was nowhere to be found, officials said.

Powell's husband told deputies he searched for almost an hour before contacting authorities, officials said.

A California Highway Patrol helicopter with a thermal imaging device flew over the area and the Inyo County sheriff Search and Rescue team began searching immediately, sheriff's officials said.

The air and ground search continued over the weekend, officials said.

Sheriff's officials did not give any indication of how Powell got lost in the area. But her son, Greg Powell, told reporters she was chased by a man with a knife.

``Chased her down the hill. She ran away,'' he told ABC7.

Powll told reporters his mother, an experienced hiker and camper, kept moving around at night and found water to drink and cactus to eat.

``She's so strong,'' Powell said.


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