Woman, 76, Found After 2 Weeks Lost in Oregon Mountains
Doris Anderson was separated from her husband in Oregon mountains.
Sept. 7, 2007 — -- A memorial service was scheduled for Doris Anderson this weekend. The 76-year-old disappeared into the Oregon mountains two weeks ago, and though rescuers combed the area, they could find no trace of her.
Mourning turned to joy Thursday when sheriff's deputies found Anderson at the bottom of a canyon.
This morning she's in an Oregon hospital suffering from a hip injury and dehydration. Her husband of 55 years is overjoyed.
"Hallelujah! It's just a living miracle," said Harold Anderson, 74.
For two weeks, Doris had struggled to survive in the rugged wilderness of the Wallowa Mountains in eastern Oregon.
Doris and Harold were on an elk hunting trip in the mountains when their truck trailer got stuck. Harold broke his wrist trying to free the vehicles, then the two lost track of each other after hiking out to find help. Harold was found, but Doris disappeared.
"I thought I'd never see her again. I had her pictures close to me. I thought I'd never see her again until the Rapture," Harold said.
Her family members were beginning to think they would never see her again.
"We had given her up for lost," said her brother-in-law Melvin Anderson. "We still don't believe how she could have survived that. I thought she was gone, but my wife said, 'No, she'll survive.' My wife was right."
Authorities had also given up hope. Doris had been lightly dressed in an area where temperatures had dipped into the 30s.
About 70 volunteers a day had searched on land and in the air to no avail, while her relatives lit candles and prayed.
But Melvin's wife, Iris, said that she actually had a dream that Doris was at the bottom of a canyon.
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