A 10-year-old girl has been safely reunited with her family after getting lost for more than 24 hours in Washington’s Cascade Mountains, police say.
Shunghla Mashwani was enjoying a family outing on June 4 near the Cathedral Pass Trailhead, a release from the Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) stated. When the family left the area, crossing the river back to the parking area to eat lunch, however, Mashwani was nowhere to be found, despite a desperate search from 20 adults in the group, the release stated.
With no cell service in the area, the family continued to search on their own until a passerby offered them the use of a satellite phone to call the police, the press release stated. Local law enforcement officials supplied with drones and K-9 units spent the next 24 hours searching the dense forests and rugged terrain for Mashwani.
At approximately 3 p.m. Monday afternoon, two ground team volunteers — John Sand and Liz Pachaud — found the 10-year old girl alive, 1.5 miles from where she was last seen, the press release stated. Though she had sustained a few minor scrapes, the young girl was relatively unharmed, the press release stated. (RELATED: Incredible Video Shows Moment State Troopers Find 4-Year-Old Boy, Dog Who Went Missing In The Woods)
“Shunghla told her family and rescuers she found herself suddenly separated and alone when the family was travelling back toward the footbridge and couldn’t find the bridge on her own. She hiked downstream through the dense forest and spent the cold night between some trees,” the KCSO reported the girl as saying in the release.
Though Mashwani was lost and undoubtedly frightened, she knew it “was a right thing to follow the river”, leading KCSO officials to observe the child proved to be “an extraordinarily resourceful and resilient 10-year-old,” the release stated.
Snohomish County Swiftwater personnel used an inflatable rescue watercraft to bring her safely to the east side of the river and reunite Mashwani with her father, the release stated.
Mashwani and her family immigrated to the United States from Afghanistan two years ago and told rescuers they enjoy spending time in the mountains as it reminds them of their home country. The KCSO expressed their deep thanks for the “tremendous outpouring of assistance and resources” that brought Mashwani safely home to her family.