“I Was So Happy to See Them” North Hollywood Woman Rescued from Sequoia National Forest

Sam Wilson was hoisted to safety by a rescue helicopter last Friday after being trapped with just a light jacket to keep her warm and half a granola bar to eat.

A North Hollywood woman has said she was "so happy" to see rescuers after being trapped overnight in the Sequoia National Forest.

Sam Wilson was hoisted to safety by a rescue helicopter last Friday after being trapped with just a light jacket to keep her warm and half a granola bar to eat.

The 33-year-old had suffered a compound fracture in her shoulder, severe cuts across wrist and scrapes on her stomach after tumbling 35 feet into water below when trying to recover a bag she had dropped while hiking. Despite being an experienced hiker, she found it impossible to escape as she was located next to a shear rock wall near a waterfall.

"I knew my legs were OK because I was able to stand up but (when) I looked at my arm, (it) was hanging quite low," Wilson said. "I thought that I had picked it up to my chest but it was still hanging so I knew immediately it was broken… and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to get out."

Despite being armed with a distress whistle, the loud waterfall made it impossible for people to hear, and she was forced to huddle up in a ball to stay warm as she waited overnight.

The next day she was finally found by some hikers at 3 p.m, and they got in touch with emergency services, and a helicopter was sent out to save her.

Wilson was full of praise for the parks department and California Highway Patrol officers for coming to her rescue.

"I was so happy to see those guys. I said, 'Man, for somebody you never want to see, you are so happy when you see the rescue guys,'" Wilson said. 

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