Contestant in YouTube Challenge Rescued from Michigan Wilderness

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) A contestant in a YouTube outdoor survival challenge was rescued from a forest in northern Michigan after she went missing for nearly 18 hours in the wilderness, officials say.

The 36-year-old woman from California left the contest’s designated base camp in Pigeon River State Forest, northeast of Gaylord, around 5 p.m. Friday to search for water. But she did not return, so contest hosts began to search for her.

Twelve hours later, around 5 a.m. Saturday, they called 911. Deputies with the Otsego County Sheriff’s Office, Michigan State Police troopers, several other local law enforcement agencies and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources worked together to look for her in woods that were “still damaged from the ice storm” that devastated much of northern Michigan in late March, according to MSP.

Around 10:40 a.m., she was spotted in a swampy area by troopers on the Michigan State Police helicopter. Video shared by MSP shows the woman waving to the helicopter from a heavily wooded area.

“Definitely got her, we’re just trying to work out getting the camera on her real good and then locking in a spot for you guys to get out here, but if you see where the helicopter is, I’m basically right over top of her right now,” the pilot can be heard saying over the radio.

He guided ground crews, including an MSP K-9, to her. They escorted her to safety.

“The female was missing in the cold and rain for almost 18 hours,” the Otsego County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a release.

Deputies said she walked out on her own and didn’t have serious injuries. The woman was not identified by police.