Oakland woman found after disappearance near Fort Bragg

A search party found Elizabeth Schenk around 4 p.m. in a wooded area north of town, Mendocino County Sheriff's Captain Quincy Cromer said in a press release.

Schenk was in stable condition and in good spirits. He appeared to have suffered only minor cuts and scratches after two nights and nearly three days within the wilderness.

Cromer said she was taken to Adventist Mendocino Coast Hospital in Fort Bragg for a medical evaluation.

Schenk disappeared around 9 a.m. Tuesday while climbing on a forest road near Bruhel Point Road.

The sheriff's office, together with several search and rescue agencies, searched the realm Tuesday evening and conducted additional searches Wednesday and Thursday.

Cromer said the seek for Schenk was complicated by “treacherous terrain and rugged wilderness,” which is why additional search and rescue personnel were requested for Thursday's search through the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services.

More than 70 volunteers and 7 specially trained dogs were involved within the search. In the afternoon, a search party discovered a chunk of clothing that appeared to belong to Schenk. According to Cromer, she was eventually found 200 meters away.

Cromer said Schenk was reunited along with her family before being taken to the hospital.

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