A deaf 93-year-old mushroom picker from Newberg, Ore., covered herself with bark and moss to stay warm before she was found early Thursday.
Searchers located Sonn Souv, 93, about a third of a mile east of the search base near Mount Adams in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. The woman had been reported missing at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday by family members who were out picking mushrooms near the Salt Creek Trailhead on the Forest Service Road 8031.
According to Skamania County authorities, search efforts intensified Wednesday evening as searchers began a tight grid search radiating out from the point where she was last seen. When she was located, Souv had covered herself with brush and bark to keep warm. She was in very thick underbrush and timber in the area.
It was the second successful rescue of an elderly mushroom picker by Skamania County rescuers in a month. In September, deputies found an 84-year-old Tacoma man after he was missing for two nights in the Randle area.
Souv was taken by ambulance to Skyline Hospital in White Salmon for precautionary treatment and she no longer was there Thursday night, a hospital employee said. She suffered some minor injuries, but none appeared as life threatening.
