FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — Tiffany Slaton’s survival in the Sierra has been hailed as a “miracle,” but it has also sparked suspicion.
“When I saw her story, that’s when I first went, ‘Oh, something’s not adding up right, here,’” seasoned outdoorsman Jeff Aiello said.
Aiello was skeptical from when Slaton took to the cameras last week to describe her ordeal.
“Hello,” she said from the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office on Friday, explaining she did not have prepared remarks.
She was wearing a blanket, something Aiello says wasn’t necessary.
“That was a warning flag for me,” Aiello said.
Missing woman found safe in Fresno County speaks for first time
He probed Slaton’s story, starting with the avalanche she says blocked her path and turned a vacation into a nightmare.
“There’s no avalanche in the Sierra this time of year or in late April,” Aiello said. “The conditions don’t exist for it.”
According to the National Weather Service, there was little to no snowpack at the time. There were at least two systems that brought snowfall, however.
Slaton’s entire journey lasted nearly a month, and for 15 days, she was officially lost.
Her parents in Georgia had not heard from her, and Slaton said repeated calls to 911 failed.
“(I) Eventually got mad at my GPS and decided to ask, ‘Well, where is the nearest Starbucks? It was like, ‘Oh, well, we can answer that question. It’s 18 miles from here,’” Slaton said at the press conference.
“There was no service. She couldn’t get a call to 911, but then right after that, asked Siri where the closest Starbucks was,” Aiello said. “Well, Siri doesn’t work unless you have connectivity.”
Slaton eventually discovered a cabin near Lake Edison, and reports of her rescue made national headlines.
‘Dad, I’m alive’: Missing Georgia woman found safe in Fresno County
We asked Slaton’s father about his daughter’s story over the phone Monday.
“My daughter doesn’t give false statements to us or to anybody,” he told Action News. “We’re 100 percent behind her.”
We also asked about the naysayers.
“The fact of the matter is, they weren’t there,” he said. “They weren’t in the situation.”
Slaton’s parents have since closed a GoFundMe established for their daughter.
Action News has learned the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office has retraced some of Slaton’s path and found evidence to validate her story. The family is now actively talking with investigators.
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