Lost Mercer Island hiker near Teanaway walks 16 miles to safety

ELLENSBURG — Kittitas County authorities say a hiker missing in the Teanaway area of central Washington walked 16 miles overnight to safety.

The Yakima Herald reported 25-year-old Sarah Brandabur of Mercer Island had been trying to hike to Ingalls Lake with a friend on Wednesday, but continued on alone after the friend got tired.

The Kittitas County sheriff’s office says search and rescue volunteers were just starting to look for Brandabur on Thursday when a resident called to say she had walked to their home overnight. Their home is about 16 miles from where the searchers were looking and where her footprints had been spotted.

Temperatures had dropped to the mid-20s overnight and Brandabur had no overnight gear. The sheriff’s office reports she was cold and tired, but not injured.

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