Gia Fuda, an 18-year-old Washington teen who disappeared for eight days, apparently tried to walk for help after her car ran out of gas.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Fuda’s brother said he saw her leaving their Maple Valley home with several bags on July 24, but she reportedly wouldn’t tell him why. The following day, police found Fuda’s vehicle abandoned off of Highway 2 between Skykomish and Stevens Pass.
Fuda’s purse was inside the vehicle and authorities said it appeared as if she ran out of gas. Washington authorities said her phone had either been turned off or had died.
According to the King County Sheriff’s Office, Gia Fuda was discovered “deep in the woods, conscious and talking,” KEPR reports.
The teen’s father, Bob Fuda, told NBC 5 that she ran out of gas in a remote area that didn’t have cellphone reception. She began walking in an attempt to get reception on her phone and ended up lost in the woods.
“There’s no reception up there, so she was going to get reception or help. She got down the road and got up into forest the trees, and the woods thinking she could get to a bridge and got turned around up there,” Bob Fuda said.
Gia spent most of her time walking around, according to her family, and praying she would be found. She ended up by a creek and lived off of creek water and berries.
“She’s doing amazing, after eight days of no food, eating berries up there… she said she was eating berries. She’s an amazingly strong girl,” Bob Fuda added.
Although she was dehydrated and scratched up, family members said Gia is making a strong recovery.
“She’s like, ‘I’m fine nothing’s broken.’ She’s mentally tough and now we’ve found out she’s physically tough,” family members said.
Gia’s mother, Kristin Fuda, acknowledged the hard work of police and search teams, who scoured daily until they found the missing teen. Kristin previously said they lost a daughter in a train accident years ago, and continued to pray that Gia made it home safely.
“That was the best thing I heard everyone saying, this is the best news of 2020,” Kristin said. “We kept faith and I kept telling him (Bob), ‘She’s so stubborn, she’ll make it.'”
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[Feature Photo: Gia Fuda/Handout]
