Rescue of hiker missing for weeks in California wilderness a ‘surreal moment’

When the Vermilion Valley Resort in California’s eastern Sierra shut down for the winter, the staff left cabin doors unlocked just in case a wayward hiker needed shelter during the frequent mountain snowstorms. That decision may have saved the life of Tiffany Slaton, the 27-year-old Georgia woman who was missing for nearly three weeks in remote wilderness.