Search Continues For Woman Missing 2 Weeks While 'Quarantining' In Sierra
MADERA (CBS SF) -- The search for a California woman who has been missing for two weeks after embarking on a solo camping trip in the Sierra south of Yosemite intensified on Monday, according to the Madera County Sheriff's Office.
The family of Sandra Johnsen Hughes say their last communication with the 54-year-old was June 26. Last week, Madera County deputies found Hughes' silver Saab crashed near her campsite in Johnson Meadows in the Sierra National Forest.
The condition of her campsite, which was described as "disheveled" by searchers, was out of character for the experienced hiker Hughes, according to her niece Ashley Macus. Macus told Sierra News Online her aunt was highly organized and once trained to be a park ranger. "She said she was quarantining in the National Forest," Macus told Sierra News.
Hughes was apparently spotted by hikers on the Fourth of July weekend. They reported seeing her walking barefoot with a bruise on her face but she declined medical assistance, according to a sheriff's office spokeswoman.
Hughes had been living in Maui for the past few months prior to moving to California, Macus said.
Deputies and volunteers from the Madera County Sheriff's Office, the Kern County Sheriff, Tulare County Sheriff, Fresno County Sheriff, Cal OES and the California Air National Guard have all been helping in the search for Hughes. So far, however, they have come up empty.
"Today, the California Army National Guard in Fresno sent their UH60M Blackhawk helicopter crew to assist (the search for Hughes)" the sheriff's offices said Monday on its Facebook page.
Anyone who sees Hughes is urged to contact authorities immediately.
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