Esther Wang, 16, walks out of Canadian wilderness after frantic search

A 16-year-old girl who went missing after getting separated from her hiking group in the Canadian wilderness was found safe after a frantic 54-hour search, officials said.

Esther Wang was found in Golden Ears Park in British Columbia, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Friday.

“She is healthy, she is happy and she is with family,” RCMP Superintendent Wendy Mehat said in a statement.

Wang was separated from her hiking group on the East Canyon trail around 3 p.m. on Tuesday, officials said. After the group unsuccessfully tried to find her on their own, their leader contacted park officials, who then notified RCMP.

Sixteen teams were deployed in the intensive search for Wang over the two days she was missing.

Wang was found around 9:30 p.m. on Thursday night when she walked back out onto the same trail where she had lost her way.

A medical team assessed her at the scene, and she was released to her family the same evening, according to RCMP.

Wang got lost after taking a wrong turn going down the mountain. She later made her way back up the mountain off-trail and found a place to rest, Staff Sgt. Keith Schendel told City News.

With a supply of food and water, she spent two nights on the mountain before following a waterway that led her back to the trail.

She had no serious injuries, Schendel added.

“She’s fine, just extremely fatigued and sore, bitten by mosquitoes. So she’s going to be taking some time to rest and then we’ll figure out in more detail exactly where the wrong turns were taken and all that kind of stuff.”