CLEARLAKE, Calif. (AP) - A couple missing for a week after they left on a Lake County camping trip have been found uninjured after getting trapped in the woods by heavy rains.
Viola Liu and Ryan Barrett of Fremont left Jan. 16 to visit a campsite in the Mendocino National Forest where they previously had carved their names into an oak tree. But when last week's storms hit, the creeks they had crossed swelled into rivers, blocking their exit.
On Saturday, a search helicopter hired by family members spotted footsteps in the snow, and the pilot found Liu and Barrett on a remote ridge waving.
Police say the only clue during the four-day search had been a charge on Liu's credit card from an Upper Lake gas station. Based on that, the family hired a helicopter to search the area after local authorities said there was not enough information to do so.
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Information from: The Santa Rosa Press Democrat, http://www.pressdemocrat.com
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