Mail Tribune News - Lost woman found after 2 cold nights

Mail Tribune (Medford, OR — Wayback)

2001-07-22

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Lost woman found after 2 cold nights By The Associated Press SELMA -- A woman lost two nights in the woods while looking for moss for Christmas crafts mistook rescuers for mushroom hunters and didn't come out when her name was called because she was afraid, authorities said. But Kathleen Marie Tigue, 42, of Selma, did almost everything else right, staying warm with the help of her dog, keeping dry and filling her water bottle from a creek until she was found unharmed Friday, said Alan Rhodes, search and rescue coordinator for the Josephine County Sheriff's Department. Tigue was reported missing Wednesday evening in the Siskiyou Mountains about six miles west of Selma along the Illinois River. She had gone into the woods with a friend, Holly Horn, who became separated from Tigue and reported her missing. Tigue saw searchers' flashlights and heard them on Wednesday night during the initial search, said Rhodes. She was within a couple hundred yards of a road and within 20 yards of some of the searchers. "When somebody is out there and they get hypothermic, they get confused and might not recognize searchers as searchers," said Rhodes. "She thought they might be mushroom hunters and she was scared. "She flat out said she knew she violated her first rule to stay put and not move," Rhodes added. The search effort involved more than 25 personnel, as well as four dogs, who searched a six-mile radius in the Siskiyou National Forest. Tigue told rescuers she had her dog, Lokee, only a couple weeks and was thinking of getting rid of him, but not any longer. The dog stayed with her and helped keep her warm. "She and the dog are bonded very closely now," said Rhodes. Mail Tribune Copyright �  The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA