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An Arizona grandmother survived nine days alone in the wilderness by sustaining herself on pond water and plants she knew were safe to eat.
72-year-old Ann Rodgers had been driving with her dog from Tucson to Phoenix to visit her grandchildren when she suddenly ran out of gas after getting lost.
As NBC News reports, after climbing a few rocks and ridges to look for cell service, Rodgers was horrified to discover that she was even more lost than before—and separated from her car.
“The probabilities of finding her alive were really low,” Gila County Sheriff’s Detective Johnny Holmes told The Guardian. “It’s a miracle on its own that she’s still here given she was out there that many days.”
When an NBC 12 reporter asked Rodgers if she felt like a miracle, she replied: “No, what I feel like is a survivor.”
For days, Rodgers’ resourcefulness kicked into gear and she was able to survive by eating plants and drinking water from a nearby pond.
While she waited for help to arrive, Rodgers also spelled out “HELP” on the canyon floor, using sticks and rocks she found.
On April 3, Rodgers had also penned a handwritten note that she left underneath a rock, explaining that she had run out of food and water and decided to walk down the canyon to search for help.
On Saturday, a White Mountain Apache Tribe Game and Fish officer spotted Rodgers' dog walking out of the Canyon Creek and a DPS Ranger crew from Flagstaff launched an aerial search of the area.
As the helicopter continued circling the area, they found what looked like a shelter that Rodgers could have abandoned.
Finally, nine days after she first went missing, the rescue crew saw Rodgers waving at the helicopter next to a signal fire.
Despite everything she went through, authorities say Rodgers was evaluated by doctors and released just a few hours after being admitted to a Payson hospital.
“If she didn’t do her part, we might still be out there looking for her,” said Johnny Holmes, a detective with the tribal game and fish agency. “She partook in her own rescue by giving our guys clues to find and follow where she was.”
