A Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office helicopter crew located and rescued a formerly lost 21-year-old Seattle woman, Paula Reuter, after she spent three unexpected nights in the Kulla Kulla Basin near the Pratt River.

Just before 3 p.m. on Thursday, October 9, the helicopter crew, part of a combined search effort with King County Search and Rescue, spotted a lone hiker and believed they found Reuter.  They lowered crew members to the hiker, but the helicopter was running low on fuel and had to resupply.  When the helicopter, Snohawk, returned, the crew was able to hoist Reuter and her two dogs to safety.

The helicopter touched down at Bandera Airfield where Reuter was reunited with her parents and some awaiting friends.  Reuter had travelled about six miles from her car, which was parked at the Ira Springs trailhead.  She reported that she was trying to hike to Mt. Defiance when she became disoriented on the trails and couldn’t find her way back.

The hiker was transported to an area hospital where she was examined for precautionary measures.  She had scratches all over her arms and legs from apparently bushwhacking or off-trail hiking.  Reuter said that she ate wild mushrooms and built a small fire while in the wilderness.  She said that she fed her dogs some beef jerky that she had taken with her.

Her parents were relieved to see their daughter and grateful for the deputies and the search and rescue volunteers who searched for their daughter, a sheriff’s spokesperson stated.