FRESNO, Calif. – The survival story of a missing camper who spent nearly three weeks lost in the snow-covered Sierra Nevada mountains has stunned even the most experienced rescuers.
What we know:
The tale of Tiffany Slaton, which includes battling blizzards, injury, hunger, and isolation, is one reminiscent of the competition game shows Survivor or Alone.
Though the 27-year-old’s story isn’t TV.
As Fresno County Sheriff John Zanoni said, it’s an “incredible story of perseverance, determination and survival.”
Slaton, of Jeffersonville, Georgia, had been on a solo camping trip through the Sierra National Forest, part of a “bucket list” adventure before setting off to medical school.
Her journey began April 14 in the Shaver Lake and Huntington Lake areas. She traveled by electric bike with basic gear, including two sleeping bags and a tent.
She made it as far as Kaiser Pass, at an elevation of about 9,000 feet, and also passed through the Edison Lake and Golden Lake areas.
At one point, Slaton fell off the side of a mountain. She later told reporters at a news conference on Friday she was unconscious for nearly two hours. She said she had to splint one leg and pop the other back into place herself.
“Thinking of going over Kaiser Pass, and there is somewhere between 10 and 12 feet of snow. The road hadn’t even been plowed yet at the time that she went over,” Zanoni said.
Slaton ultimately had to abandon her electric bike at the trailhead for Hopkins Lake.
An avalanche blocked the road, and though she tried calling 911 repeatedly, the calls didn’t go through. Her GPS suggested the nearest Starbucks was 18 miles away — closer than the nearest trail entrance.
That’s when the most intense phase of her survival began.
Dig deeper:
She endured dehydration, hunger, extreme sun exposure that damaged her eyes, and brutal snowstorms — all while suffering from Ballerina Syndrome, a rare condition that prevents her from keeping her heels on the ground.
She ran out of most of her food within five days.
Her family last heard from her on April 20 and reported her missing on April 29. Search crews began a massive effort, covering 600 square miles between May 6 and 10.
What they’re saying:
“I managed to survive off of these leeks and boiling the snowmelt for a very long period of time,” Slaton said.
A traveling dialysis technician, archery coach, and permaculturist, Slaton attributes her survival to both her physical conditioning and life skills she learned growing up on her family’s small farm in Georgia.
She was finally found on May 15 by Christopher Gutierrez and his employees at the Vermilion Valley Resort near Mono Hot Springs. The resort had been snowed in, but once roads were cleared that day, Gutierrez visited the property to begin summer preparations.
During the check, they noticed a door open at one of the rentals, known as the Boat House.
“I see some shoes down there, and I’m like, okay, well, it’s just a hiker who decided to hold up in the blizzard that we had that previous night and so as soon as we start making our way there, here comes Tiffany pops out deer in the headlights,” Gutierrez shared in a news conference on Wednesday.
He recounted the powerful moment she saw him and his workers.
“Didn’t say a word, just ran up and all she wanted was a hug,” the resort owner shared, “And it was a pretty surreal moment.”
Slaton told reporters that if Gutierrez hadn’t found her when he did, she would have been dead after enduring 13 grueling snowstorms.
“I would not be here,” she said. “It was going to be the last one if he hadn’t have come that day. They would have found my body there.”
Gutierrez drove Slaton to a staging area, where deputies met her.
Despite surviving an avalanche, two landslides, and more than a dozen heavy snowstorms, Slaton’s injuries were limited to small cuts, burns, and eye damage from sun exposure.
“Nothing that I don’t think time will be able to heal,” she said.
At the back of her mind throughout the ordeal was one goal: to get back to her family in time for her birthday. She was found on May 14 — and the next day, her actual birthday, she was reunited with her family in California.
The Source: Information for this story came from the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office and Tiffany Slaton.
LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — A string of deadly crashes in and around Pahrump has prompted Nye County Sheriff Joe McGill to push for more safety measures along dark, sidewalk-free roads.
“The worst penalty is death, if you consider that,” McGill said.
The recent deaths include a single-vehicle rollover on State Route 160 during the morning hours of the last Wednesday in January that killed one person and injured another.
Then, into February, two pedestrians were killed in less than three days.
The first was a 7 p.m. crash on Quarter Horse Avenue. Investigators believe a 2006 Jeep Liberty was driving on the street when it hit a pedestrian, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
A few days later, this last Saturday, state troopers responded to a crash just after sundown at Charleston Park Avenue. A sedan hit a pedestrian, who was also pronounced dead at the scene.
Nevada State Police investigators are still investigating both pedestrian cases before more details are released.
McGill said the recent crashes were enough to spur action.
“When the third one came out, I was sitting at home and watching TV. I looked at my wife and I said, ‘We got to do something about this,’” McGill said.
McGill is responding with a reflective vest giveaway, pointing to limited infrastructure as a possible factor. He noted a lack of street lights off State Route 160 and no sidewalks inside the community.
“The only light that you have is the ambient light from houses and cars so it is really dark,” McGill said.
John Treanor of AAA Nevada said poor visibility can quickly turn dangerous for both drivers and pedestrians.
“It is very easy to be confronted with a situation that you cannot see coming because the visibility might be bad,” Treanor said.
Treanor encouraged pedestrians to carry lights and drivers to be prepared if they end up outside their vehicles in dark conditions.
“Having lights on you. Even carrying a flashlight allows something where a driver can see it,” Treanor said. “If you are a driver, make sure you have the right stuff in your car, in case you do get in a situation where you are on the side of the road and now you are in dark. Make sure you have a kit with some reflectors, some lights. Anything the trunk of your car in case you need it.”
McGill said vigilance is important even in daylight.
“Any time of the day, you have got to be vigilant. You have to keep aware of your surroundings if you are a walker or on a bicycle or if you are the driver,” he said.
Authorities also urged caution as more people may pull off roads in rocky areas along the route toward Death Valley National Park during springtime blooms, increasing the need for drivers and pedestrians to stay alert.
A waterfront mansion on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe just sold for $46 million, less than three weeks after hitting the market.
The speedy deal marks a departure from the typical U.S. market.
Nationwide, homes took a median 78 days to land a buyer in January, five more than the same time last year and the 22nd straight month of homes taking longer to sell on a year-over-year basis, according to data from Realtor.com.
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The lavish log cabin-like residence, in Incline Village, listed on Jan. 24 for $47.5 million. It sold 20 days later, on Feb. 13, listing records show.
The more than 7,000-square-foot residence was built in 2014, and has double-height living spaces, walls of windows, beamed ceilings, fireplaces, and plenty of rustic exposed stone and wood, listing images show.
There’s also a gym, a wet bar, a spa, a wine room, an office, two separate game rooms, seven bedrooms and dramatic Lake Tahoe views. Outside, there’s a private sandy beach, multiple decks, a heated driveway and two exterior fireplaces, according to listing information.
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The seller and the buyer are both limited liability companies, according to property records. Both parties were represented by Jeff Brown of Tahoe Mountain Realty, who declined to comment on the deal.
The median home price in Incline Village was $1.595 million as of December, a fall of 3.3% from a year earlier, according to data from Realtor.com. Listings, meanwhile, spent an average of 130 days on the market.
Updated February 26, 2026 – 8:28 pm
click to expand photos
Green Valley’s softball team claimed an 8-6 win at Liberty on Thursday on the first day of high school spring sports competition in Nevada.
Green Valley next hosts Silverado at 3 p.m. Friday. Liberty plays at Bishop Gorman at 3 p.m. Friday.
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
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