JLB
September 7th, 2007, 11:14:07 AM
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/09/07/oregon.rescue/index.html
(CNN) -- A 76-year-old woman who was given up for dead after she disappeared in the Oregon wilderness 13 days ago was found alive by officers looking on their own.
After the search had been called off and a memorial service planned, Ora Doris Anderson was found "in extremely rough terrain deep in a canyon" in Oregon's Wallowa Mountains by a state trooper and a sheriff's deputy, according to the Baker County sheriff's department.
The search had been officially called off August 31, and the family had planned the service for this weekend.
After following the sound of birds singing, Deputy Travis Ash and Senior Trooper Chris Hawkins found Anderson conscious and talking in a previously searched area beside Bennett Creek on Thursday afternoon.
"We actually heard some birds earlier in the morning and we made a walk down there and were able to find her lying next to the creek," Ash told CNN's Kiran Chetry on "American Morning."
"We actually found her down in Bennett Creek right along the creek in pretty heavy brush."
Asked if Anderson told the officers how she was able to survive two weeks without food and water, Hawkins said, "We really didn't ask her those kinds of questions. We just made sure we kept her awake and kept her talking about family and general ... things. [We] didn't really go into specifics about how she'd gotten there.
"Considering how long she'd been out there, I think she was in very good condition. A few scrapes but she looked well," Hawkins said.
Anderson apparently had injured her hip but was alert as she was flown by helicopter to St. Elizabeth Hospital in Baker City, Oregon, a hospital official said. She is listed in critical but stable condition, said spokesman George Winn.
Doctors said she was in "surprisingly good shape considering she's been lost in the mountains for 13 days," Winn said.
(CNN) -- A 76-year-old woman who was given up for dead after she disappeared in the Oregon wilderness 13 days ago was found alive by officers looking on their own.
After the search had been called off and a memorial service planned, Ora Doris Anderson was found "in extremely rough terrain deep in a canyon" in Oregon's Wallowa Mountains by a state trooper and a sheriff's deputy, according to the Baker County sheriff's department.
The search had been officially called off August 31, and the family had planned the service for this weekend.
After following the sound of birds singing, Deputy Travis Ash and Senior Trooper Chris Hawkins found Anderson conscious and talking in a previously searched area beside Bennett Creek on Thursday afternoon.
"We actually heard some birds earlier in the morning and we made a walk down there and were able to find her lying next to the creek," Ash told CNN's Kiran Chetry on "American Morning."
"We actually found her down in Bennett Creek right along the creek in pretty heavy brush."
Asked if Anderson told the officers how she was able to survive two weeks without food and water, Hawkins said, "We really didn't ask her those kinds of questions. We just made sure we kept her awake and kept her talking about family and general ... things. [We] didn't really go into specifics about how she'd gotten there.
"Considering how long she'd been out there, I think she was in very good condition. A few scrapes but she looked well," Hawkins said.
Anderson apparently had injured her hip but was alert as she was flown by helicopter to St. Elizabeth Hospital in Baker City, Oregon, a hospital official said. She is listed in critical but stable condition, said spokesman George Winn.
Doctors said she was in "surprisingly good shape considering she's been lost in the mountains for 13 days," Winn said.