Photo:Kittitas County Sheriff/Facebook
Kittitas County Sheriff/Facebook
A 10-year-old girl survived a night alone in a remote area of Washington after getting separated from her family.
Shunghla Mashwani, was found alive on Monday about 1.5 miles from where she was last seen the previous day in the Cle Elum River Valley.
TheKittitas Sheriff’s Department postedabout the dramatic rescue on Facebook, writing that Shunghla’s extended family were together at the Cathedral Pass Trailhead on Fish Lake Road when the little girl got separated from the group.
“The Mashwani family came to the U.S. from Afghanistan only two year(s) ago and told searchers they like to spend time in the high backcountry because it reminds them of home,” police wrote.
The sheriff’s office immediately sent out teams to search the “steep, rugged, and remote” area for the child in a coordinated effort withKittitas County Search & Rescuevolunteers.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.On Monday, a massive response was organized using rescue crews from the immediate area and beyond. K9’s, human searchers and drones canvassed the region, authorities said in the statement.
Around 3 p.m. local time that day, two volunteers miraculously found the girl alive with only “minor scrapes.” She had moved southward along the river and was about 1.5 miles from where she was last seen, the statement said. The girl was soon reunited with her father.
Shunghla later told rescuers that she “found herself suddenly separated and alone when the family” went back and “couldn’t find the bridge” to cross over the river on her own, police said.
“She hiked downstream through the dense forest and spent the cold night between some trees. She said she knew it was the right thing to follow the river,” police said of the “extraordinarily resourceful and resilient 10-year-old.”
source: people.com
