Missing hikers were found in the mountains of California. Then there are skeptics

In the days when missing camper Tiffany Slaton rescued from the Sierra National Forest, it is a heart-warming story of a woman challenging the hikers and their families in a chorus of online skeptics.

While many praised the 28-year-old Georgia woman's tenacity, others expressed doubts about the authenticity of her shocking survival story and criticized her family's motives for fundraising.

She found on May 14 near Lake Eddison, Slaton set out on April 20 for a three-day camping trip in the Huntington Lake area, but survived for three weeks in the wilderness – eating wild leeks and boiling snow melted the drinking water.

Slaton said she lost her way after falling off the cliff and was unable to return to the main road due to an avalanche. After rolling, she lost consciousness for two hours. When she woke up, she clamped one leg and bounced the other knee back.

She said she stepped on many miles while seeking civilization, overcoming 13 snowstorms and two landslides. Along the way, she lost her electric bike, a tent, two sleeping bags and a phone.

The Fresno County Sheriff's Office said that after she was rescued, medical staff determined she was dehydrated but was in good condition.

After the press conference, comments asking about her story began to flow into the social media of the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, news articles about rescues, and a Reddit post dedicated to discussing the “odd numbers” in her story.

“I'm glad to see others don't believe this story. So many things won't add up, and I hope this office can conduct a full investigation into it because resources are used,” one wrote on Facebook in the Sheriff's Office. “It was embarrassing to think that people believed someone fell off a cliff, survived for 2 hours (guess she was timing), bounced her knee back into place, and walked 20 miles after clamping her legs.”

Slaton hasn't spoken to the media since the press conference. Her mother, Fredrina Slaton, rejected the Times' request for an interview on her behalf.

Her parents closed donations to the GoFundMe page on Monday, which raised $23,500, citing “these events generated negative feedback.”

“It took a lot of time to endure attacks and attention,” Fredrina Slaton wrote on GoFundMe.

Slaton's parents reported that their daughter disappeared on April 29 after nine days of not hearing about her. They launched a fundraiser on May 7 and continued to accept donations after being discovered, citing payments for travel to California.

“At present, we have not had any interviews,” Fredrina Slaton told The Times in a statement Wednesday. “We focus on Tiffany’s health and well-being.”

Tiffany's father, Bobby Slaton, defended his daughter's survival story and wrote an article by Gofundme: “Believe it or not, we even thank those who question the incident – that's what makes the miracle incredible.”

Howie Schwartz, an experienced Sierra guide, said he had no doubt that Slaton was lost in the wilderness, but said her story didn’t make much sense.

“It doesn't seem like a story,” Schwartz told the Times. “Falling off a cliff, you have to clamp your legs. Unless your leg is broken and your leg is broken, you don't clamp your legs, and if you have a broken leg, you don't walk a few miles on it.”

Schwartz directed a five-day ski trip in the mono recess of the Sierra Mountains, while Slaton disappeared and saw a helicopter searching for her. He confirmed that there are still late-season blizzards passing through the area, but noted that the altitude of Huntington and Lake Edison is low enough that rainfall may drop with rain.

Slaton's experience with mobile phones is that another detail of many Internet detectives is. She said she could not contact 911 but obtained GPS information for Starbucks location.

“I ended up being angry with the GP and decided to ask, 'Well, where is the Starbucks lately?” she said in a press conference. “It's like, 'Oh, well, we can answer this question. 18 miles from here.'”

Tony Botti, a spokesman for the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, said the department has not yet understood all aspects of Slaton’s survival story, such as the exact route she took when she disappeared, or her phone could not contact 911 and instead directed her to Starbucks.

“We can only process the information she told us because there are no other independent witnesses,” Botty said in a statement to the Times. “If there is inaccuracy or embellishment, there is really nothing we can do.”

Botti said the department is still investigating Slaton's journey and found tracks lined up with her road, but has not recovered the items she lacks.

Some accused Slaton of pointing out comments at a press conference about her interest in participating in the survival show “One by itself” in order to seek attention, pointing out that her comments “One by itself” had only one backpack left in the wilderness.

“Option 1: Her psychopath needs help. Option 2: She greatly retouched the story to hide her horrible disregard for common sense Selection 3: A man-made story, looking for book deals and [Go]FundMe income, one person wrote on Reddit. “Anyone who knows the area will agree.”

Some critics slammed her for failing to bring satellite contact equipment (allowing people to send messages in areas without cellular services), believing she wasted law enforcement resources to find her.

Botti defended Slaton, saying the woman did not report her disappearance, “there is no evidence that she knows we are looking for her.”

Fresno County Sheriff John Zanoni called Slaton’s journey “an incredible story of perseverance, determination and survival,” saying it was “things you might see on TV, they would make movies.”

After parents reported missing, the sheriff's office began searching for Slaton, and he learned that she had last seen her on April 20 in Lake Huntington due to public prompts.

The sheriff's search and rescue team searched nearly 600 square miles of Gosera from May 6 to 10 for Slaton. Vehicles were unable to reach through Kaiser Pass because heavy snow blocked the road, but helicopters were used to reconnaise above Mono Hot Springs and around Lake Edison, and Slaton eventually discovered Slaton.

The sheriff's office announced that the missing hiker was “miraculously discovered” at Vermilion Valley Resort on May 14, more than 20 miles from where she last met. The resort's owner Christopher Gutierrez found Slaton while checking in at his resort before reopening in the summer.

Gutierrez praised Slaton's wilderness skills at a press conference last week, saying she was in awe of how she endured a snowstorm and foraged for survival.

“She has stories and can write a book,” he said. “It's incredible.”