Missing George Fox University student Mary Owen was miraculously
rescued Saturday after spending six days trapped in a snow cave on
Oregon's Mount Hood.
Owen, 23, is an experienced hiker who decided to climb the
11,249-foot mountain solo during her spring break. But the day trip
turned into a week-long nightmare last Sunday. Caught in a whiteout
1,000 feet from the top, Owen tumbled down a canyon and found
herself trapped with a badly injured leg.
She built a snow cave for protection, sustained herself with snacks
and built fires fueled by Nutri-Grain wrappers. Because her
registration form was misplaced, officials were unaware she was
missing on the mountain.
"It's hard to give up hope when there’s so much life inside
you,” Owen told ABC on Sunday.
It wasn't until Thursday that friends and family realized she must
be missing. But Owen said she could feel their love and
concern.
She told the Oregonian that she awoke on Friday "with a lot of
peace and the sense that thousands and thousands of people were
praying for me ... I thought, "Today is the day they're going to
find me.'"
On Saturday morning, Owen was discovered by a National Guard
Helicopter and flown to safety. She spent Easter
Sunday with her family in a Portland hospital while being treated
for a leg injury and frostbite on both feet.
An aspiring bible translator, Owen told Portland KGW, "I feel I
have a purpose in life, and there's a really good reason why I'm
alive."
