California woman found in wilderness 12 days after going missing

A 24-year-old woman named Esmeralda Marie Pineda was found in the Northern California wilderness after being missing for 12 days. She was discovered severely dehydrated and emaciated near the Yuba River and Sweetland Creek in Nevada City. Pineda required immediate medical attention and was airlifted to a hospital for treatment. The extent of her injuries is unknown. Pineda had gone missing from a mining camp where she was camping with friends, who reported her disappearance when she expressed wanting to go back to Sacramento. The area where she was found was treacherous and required skilled search and rescue volunteers to locate her. Pineda’s survival in the wilderness for almost two weeks remains a mystery, with officials attributing it to luck and good survival instincts.