A 72-year-old hiker who had sustained significant injuries was found alive in a northern California forest Sunday after she had been missing for multiple days, officials said.

Mary Beth Granbery was reported missing on Friday, Oct. 2 after she departed for a multi-day camping trip on Sept. 28 at Cabin Creek Trailhead in Shasta County, California, but did not return to work that Friday, according to the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office.

Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office and Shasta County Sheriff's Office launched a joint search and rescue operation on Saturday with help from volunteers and California Highway Patrol Air Operations, according to the agencies.

Granbery was located on Sunday at the bottom of a steep embankment with multiple significant injuries from a fall and from exposure, and was airlifted to a medical center to receive treatment, Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office said.

Officials had located Granbery's camper van on Saturday at a nearby trailhead, the sheriff's office said.

Granbery was reunited safely with her loved ones, who helped with search and rescue operations and provided critical information to help locate her, the sheriff's office said.

The search area included steep terrain, creeks, trail debris and downed trees, according to the Shasta County Search and Rescue Jeep Patrol.

Officials reminded the public to inform someone of your departure and expected time of return when setting out for a trip, and to stay in place if lost so as not to expand the search area unnecessarily.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.