Update: Missing 18 year old FOUND ALIVE

King County Sheriff's Office PIO
Gia Fuda has been found ALIVE!! After 8 days missing she was just found by search and rescue crews. Amazing job by search and rescue and everyone involved who helped to find Gia.

Sgt Ryan Abbott, spokesperson
King County Sheriff's Office
Thanks to KOMO for posting the press conference

At a press conference at the Skykomish Ranger station in the Mt. Baker Snoqualmie national forest on Saturday evening, Sgt. Ryan Abbott of the King County Sheriff's Office detailed the successful efforts to find missing teenager Gia Fuda.

They brought in a bloodhound, which was able to track her 1.7 miles up the road, where it lost the scent. The area is out of cell phone range, so they triangulated the last known signal with the place where the bloodhound lost the scent and concentrated search parties there.

The area is dense with brush so they couldn't bring in helicopters. It was up to the volunteer Search and Rescue crews (SAR) to find her. The SAR coordinator was able to bring in hundreds of SAR teams, every day. They came from all over the state. They were there every day from early in the morning until late at night.

They are all volunteers.

A deputy and a SAR volunteer were searching along a creek Saturday at 2:45pm when they found a notebook, which was later determined to belong to Gia. They followed the creek and found some articles of clothing and shoes. And finally, two miles up a very steep ravine, they found Gia.

She was conscious and alert, but incoherent. They gave her some medical aid and got her out and to a member of the SAR who is a doctor; then to medics and an aid car which transported her to a hospital.

She is with her parents, who have been up with the SAR the entire time.

She had water but they don't know if she was able to find anything to eat.

The searchers figured that they had two more days because they once rescued someone who had been missing for ten days.

They will interview her in a couple of days when she is recovered.

Sgt. Abbott said "Miracles do happen. Don't ever give up."