Perhaps one of the greatest examples of teamwork, and selfless efforts to help others. A lost little 10-year-old girl was located in the woods near Cle Elum and reunited with her family. This image shows the girl being hugged by her mother, and father in the background after she was found by searchers.
The girl spends the night in the woods but survives
The Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) reports the girl had become separated from her family while they were hiking in the Cathedral Pass Trailhead area north of Cle Elum on Sunday afternoon.
The girl, named Shunghla Mashwani, of Federal Way, had lost sight her family, and could not find a footbridge they’d used to cross the Cle Elum River back to where they were gathered.
A search by the family did not turn her up, a passer-by who saw the large group frantically searching offered to let them use their satellite phone in their cabin, because of no cell service. Authorities were called and sprang into action.
The Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office helped assemble units from the following agencies, who used boats, helicopters, and 4×4 ATVs to search the rugged terrain:
“King County, Pierce County, Chelan County, Yakima County, Snohomish County, Skagit County, Seattle Mountain Rescue, and the Washington State SAR Planning Unit. Swiftwater teams from Kittitas, King, and Snohomish counties searched the Cle Elum River.”
Little girl in boat after rescue (KCSO)
Finally, around 3 PM on Monday, she was located by two workers from the KCSO, John Sand and Liz Pachaud, who were doing a ground search. They used an inflatable canoe to get her across the river where she was reunited with her family.
Little girl with family (KCSO)
For more details about this remarkable rescue, from the KCSO, click here.
All images courtesy of the KCSO.
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