Woman survived off pond water for nine days, was rescued after spelling "help" on ground with sticks
A woman lost in an Arizona forest for nine days survived by drinking pond water, eating plants and spelling out "help" on the ground with sticks.
The sign helped lead rescuers to Ann Rodgers, 72, in the White Mountains of eastern Arizona earlier this month.
Rodgers went missing March 31 as she headed to visit her grandkids in Phoenix and got lost when her hybrid vehicle ran out of petrol and electric power.
Her car was discovered three days after a search began, but rescue crews struggled to find her.
A handwritten note that dated from April 3 was also found under one of the rocks used in the help signal, indicating that Rodgers was out of food and water and was headed down the canyon.
Authorities came across her dog on April 9, and a department flight crew spotted a "help" sign made of sticks and rocks on the ground.
Rodgers had left the area, but she was found nearby on the Fort Apache Reservation after starting a signal fire and waving to a helicopter.
When it landed to rescue her, she sat down and cried.
Rodgers told a Tucson TV station that she had food and water in her car but ran out after several days and turned to survival mode.
"I was eating desert plants. My dog was too, diving into clovers and finding all the places that were the easiest to go," she told KOLD.
The Department of Public Safety said Rodgers was suffering from exposure, but she was in fair condition and able to walk to and board the helicopter with little assistance.
She was flown to Payson for treatment and later released.
It was not clear how she ended up in the eastern part of the state because the drive from Tucson to Phoenix is a straight shot on Interstate 10, which does not run through the area where she was found.
Rodgers declined to comment when reached by The Associated Press.
The woman's rescue came just days after three men who spelled out "help" with palm fronds were saved from a remote Pacific island last week.
They swam to a tiny Micronesian island when their boat capsized, and searchers spotted them two days later.
Morning news break - April 13
