01 July 2023 , 22:05
782
0
A teenager who went missing while hiking with three others has been found after 54 hours of searching.
Esther Wang, 16, was separated from her hiking group while in Golden Ears Park in British Columbia, which is about 25 miles from the US-Canadian border, on Tuesday afternoon local time.
The group had made it to Steve’s lookout around 2.45pm, but when they got back to their campsite after about 15 minutes of hiking they realised Esther was not with them.
The group returned to the lookout and could not find her.
The alarm was then raised by the park ranger and police. Authorities launched a massive search with a helicopter, a drone and 16 search teams.
Teen 'kept as slave, starved and beaten' sues adoptive parents and authorities
A massive search was launched when Esther went missingMiraciously, the teen emerged from the trail all on her own on Thursday night local time.
She was assessed by health services at the scene and released to her family the same evening.
It is unclear how she got separated from the group.
Superintendent Wendy Mehat, officer-in-charge, said in a statement: "Esther Wang has been located. She is healthy, she is happy and she is with family.
A helicopter was deployed to look for Esther"Esther’s family has expressed sincere gratitude to all first responders and Search and Rescue groups. They are very thankful for this outcome and request privacy at this time, states Superintendent Mehat.
"We’re elated at the outcome of the search and Esther being returned to her family is what our objective was.
"We used as many resources as we could. I’d like to thank our partner organizations, the RCMP, other first responders, and the helicopter companies that assisted us in this exhaustive search."
Police say the teenager is now recovering with her family.