An Arizona woman lost in the wilderness for nine days says she became desperate but stayed alive because of her survival skills.
Ann Rodgers said Wednesday that she slept in her car the first night and wore several layers of clothing to keep warm. The 72-year-old hiked through the forest for days, leaving notes behind that would help rescuers eventually find her.
She says she survived on plants, pond water and at one point, a turtle. Rodgers says she took a survival course and studied techniques for years.
Rodgers says she was headed from Tucson to Phoenix to visit her grandchildren when she took a wrong turn and ended up in the eastern part of the state. Her car ran out of gas, and she says she left it to look for help.
Rodgers is in good health and even spent Monday hiking.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
I love the tough ones with brains and she at 72 and I at 80 are not couch potatoes. Live on the country needs people like HER…
How do you get lost going from Tucson to Phoenix?. You get on Interstate 10 in Tucson, drive north for 1 hr and 20 minutes and you will arrive in Phoenix unscathed. Why do you have to get off that highway any way?.She could have been killed out there by human smugglers (“coyotes”) by neglecting to do something as simple as driving in a straight line, and another thing. Why isn’t her car full of gas before she leaves on such a trip?. You talk about an airhead,here is one..
We are all too quick to judge. We do not respect our elders.
Kudos to the surviving grandmother and thanks be to God.
Amazing that she has all these survival skills, but she didn’t have a cell phone to call for help??