Missing woman found — then lost again, then found again — in thick Outer Banks woods
A 31-year-old woman became lost during a walk in thick woods at the Outer Banks on Friday night, prompting a nighttime search-and-rescue operation by the U.S. Coast Guard and numerous other emergency responders.
And when a Coast Guard helicopter spotted her, she became lost again, according to rangers at Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
The search began after rangers said they got a 911 call at about 9 p.m. that the woman was lost near Buxton Woods Reserve, which borders the National Seashore.
The 1,000-acre Reserve lies within “the largest remaining contiguous tract of Maritime Evergreen Forest on the Atlantic coast,” according to the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality website.
The Reserve also is the only place in the world with Maritime Shrub Swamp, a Dogwood sub-type, according to the site.
A National Seashore ranger soon began looking for the woman Friday. The Hatteras Island Rescue Squad arrived to form the search and rescue, joined by Dare County sheriff’s deputies and state wildlife officers.
A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter spotted the woman, “but she became lost again,” according to a Cape Hatteras National Seashore news release on Saturday. No one could find her, and the search was suspended until Saturday morning, rangers said.
The woman surfaced at about 7:30 a.m., when a ranger saw her walking near the National Seashore’s administrative housing on Loggerhead Lane.
David Hallac, superintendent of the National Parks of Eastern North Carolina, thanked the searchers for their efforts in the dark.
“The Seashore appreciates being part of such a dedicated team of county, state, federal, and volunteer organizations that help to protect public safety,” Hallac said in a statement. “I thank all of the emergency services personnel that spent the night searching through thick woods and in the air.”
This story was originally published September 26, 2020 at 3:11 PM with the headline "Missing woman found — then lost again, then found again — in thick Outer Banks woods."