California

California Woman Found, 'Emaciated,' After 12 Days in Wilderness

Published

8 months ago

September 8, 2024

California Woman Found, 'Emaciated,' After 12 Days in Wilderness

Esmeralda Marie Pineda was camping with three friends in the Northern California wilderness on Aug. 25 when she told them she wanted to go home to Sacramento. She was gone when they woke up the next morning, NBC News reports. “So, her friends went searching for her during that day, and couldn’t find any signs whether she had made it out,” said Sgt. Dustin Moe of the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said. Deputies found the 24-year-old on Friday, “severely dehydrated and emaciated” and in need of immediate medical attention after 12 days in the wilderness. Pineda was airlifted to a hospital for treatment.

“She was able to pick her head up and kind of wave at us when we were driving in the area,” Moe said, per KCRA. “It’s just shocking what the human body can endure for that long period of time.” Pineda had last been seen near the middle fork of the Yuba River and Sweetland Creek, officials said. The area is “treacherous in nature and required skilled Nevada County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue volunteers to repel into and out of the canyon to look for her,” the statement added. Pineda was found at the top of the river canyon, indicating that she’d made a steep climb, sheriff’s officials said. There are no trail systems in that area, “so people just generally don’t go down there,” Moe said. (More search and rescue stories.)

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California

A deadly explosion outside a California fertility clinic is investigated as terrorism

Published

13 hours ago

May 18, 2025

Press Room

FBI says primary suspect in Calif. fertility clinic bombing likely died in the blast

A damaged building is seen after an explosion in Palm Springs, Calif., on Saturday.

Eric Thayer/AP

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Eric Thayer/AP

A fatal explosion outside a California fertility clinic Saturday morning is being investigated as an act of terrorism, according to an FBI official.

One person was killed and four were injured in the weekend blast that sent debris flying across multiple blocks in all directions, said Akil Davis, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office.

“Make no mistake, this is an intentional act of terrorism,” he said during a Saturday news conference.

Investigators were “not actively out searching for a suspect” but had identified a person of interest, Davis added. He did not say if that person was the one killed in the explosion.

Palm Springs Police Chief Andrew Mills said the public was not in any more danger. “I also want to make sure that our community understands this is an isolated incident. I am confident that the community is not at risk any longer,” he said.

American Reproductive Centers said Saturday in a post on Facebook that a vehicle had exploded in the parking lot near its Palm Springs facility earlier in the day. The clinic said no staff members were hurt and there was no damage to any of its eggs, embryos and reproductive material.

“This moment has shaken us—but it has not stopped us,” the post reads. “We will continue to serve with strength, love, and the hope that brings new life into the world.”

A firefighter stands at the scene of an explosion in Palm Springs, Calif., on Saturday.

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Eric Thayer/AP

Davis said the FBI believes the fertility clinic was targeted.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said Saturday evening that she had been briefed on the explosion. “We are working to learn more, but let me be clear: the Trump administration understands that women and mothers are the heartbeat of America,” she said in a post on X. “Violence against a fertility clinic is unforgivable.”

Bomb technicians were scouring the blast scene Saturday as part of the ongoing investigation, which was being led by the Joint Terrorism Task Force.

First responders arrived at the scene around 11 a.m. local time Saturday morning to find a debris field stretching over 250 yards, Davis said. He added that investigators were looking into the possibility that the bombing was live streamed.

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California

How a missing hiker survived for 3 weeks in the California wilderness

Published

1 day ago

May 17, 2025

Press Room

How a missing hiker survived for 3 weeks in the California wilderness

Tiffany Slaton, a 28-year-old woman originally from Georgia, was found alive after surviving three weeks lost in the wilderness.

Slaton planned to spend three days in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains, but after she fell off a cliff and an avalanche disrupted her path back to the main road, she spent three weeks lost in the mountains instead.

She embarked on her solo trip April 20 and was reported missing by her family April 29 after they hadn’t heard from her for nine days. After three weeks with dwindling food and supplies, Slaton was eventually found safe May 14, according to the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office.

The sheriff’s office began a search after Slaton was reported missing, and alerted the public to keep an eye out for any sign of her. Several tips from the community were called in, with confirmed sightings of Slaton on April 20 and April 24.

During a May 16 press conference, Slaton detailed her harrowing experience, sharing, “When I fell off of this cliff, I was unconscious for about two hours and did indeed have to splint one of my legs and pop the other knee back into place.”

Slaton initially had food and supplies, but when her rations ran out, she relied on her own skills to survive, revealing during the press conference that she was “pretty good at foraging.”

She primarily ate leeks and drank snow melt, referring to herself as “a trained permaculturalist.” Slaton said, “That means I’m very good at foraging, but at the end after fighting nature for such a long time, I lost my tent, and I did eventually lose both sleeping bags, so I was outside with nothing but a lighter and a knife.”

Between May 6 and May 10, the search and rescue team conducted a search spanning almost 600 square miles, according to authorities. After going off course, Slaton walked for miles for several days before she came across a remote mountain resort, Vermilion Valley Resort, on May 13.

Slaton called the resort as her saving grace, sharing that without Vermilion Valley Resort, she “would not be here.”

The resort’s owner Christopher Gutierrez told reporters during a May 14 press conference that he purposefully leaves cabins open for emergencies should someone need to seek shelter from the elements. After Slaton arrived at the resort, she was there for approximately eight hours before Gutierrez found her and immediately contacted the sheriff’s office.

During the media conference, which included Slaton’s parents, Bobby and Fredrina Slaton, Gutierrez recalled the moment he saw the 28-year-old, explaining, “She pops out, didn’t say a word, just ran up, and all she wanted was a hug.”

“It was a pretty surreal moment,” he added. “And that’s when I knew. That’s when I realized who this was.”

Other than experiencing dehydration, Slaton was in “good condition” when medics arrived at the scene, the Sheriff’s Office noted. Slaton was subsequently transported to a hospital for further evaluation.

Due to exposure to bright light from the snow-covered terrain in the mountains, authorities said Slaton’s eyes were damaged to the point where she had to wear sunglasses for two days after her rescue.

During the press conference Wednesday, Slaton’s parents expressed their joy over their daughter being found. Bobbly Slaton recalled the first thing his daughter said to him after she had been rescued: “‘Dad, I’m alive, and I’m sorry.’”

“This has to be the third or fourth best day of our lives after our children’s birth,” Bobby Slaton said. “We are extremely excited and happy to hear the news that my daughter is now safe.”

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California

Woman missing for weeks in wilderness found alive in California

Published

2 days ago

May 17, 2025

Press Room

Woman missing for weeks in wilderness found alive in California

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