- A 36-year-old woman went missing in Michigan's Pigeon River Forest during a YouTube survival show
- She left base camp Friday evening in search of water and did not return
- Michigan State Police launched a canine and helicopter search early Saturday morning
A contestant on a YouTube survival show was rescued nearly 18 hours after she went missing in the US over the weekend. The 36-year-old woman from California, whose identity has not been disclosed, went missing in the Pigeon River Forest in northern Michigan.
She left the base camp around 5 pm on Friday (Sep 5) in search of water but never returned, according to a report in New York Post. Her fellow contestants grew wary of her disappearance and launched a search operation for her, but to no avail.
As their search effort hit a dead end, police were called into action the next morning. The Michigan State Police (MSP) launched a coordinated canine and helicopter search in the densely wooded area that had been damaged from an ice storm earlier this year.
"On September 6, troopers from the Michigan State Police (MSP) Gaylord Post responded to the Pigeon River State Forest to assist the Otsego County Sheriff's Office in locating a 36-year-old woman missing from California," read a statement by the MSP.
"The woman was a contestant in a YouTube survival challenge and had become lost the previous evening but was not reported until 5:00 a.m. the following morning."
At around 10:40 am, the police helicopter located the woman deep in a swampy area of forest. One of the video clips shared by the police shows the woman standing in a thick area of trees, waving frantically to the helicopter overhead.
Watch the rescue clip here:
On September 6, troopers from the Michigan State Police (MSP) Gaylord Post responded to the Pigeon River State Forest to assist the Otsego County Sheriff's Office in locating a 36-year-old woman missing from California. The woman was a contestant in a YouTube survival challenge… pic.twitter.com/9eEdIteS5f
— MSP Seventh District (@mspnorthernmi) September 6, 2025
Despite being stranded alone for over 18 hours in the cold and rainy conditions, the woman was able to walk out of the forest on her own after officers on the ground located her. The emergency medical services evaluated her afterwards and released her with no injuries.
It was not immediately known who was hosting the YouTube survival contest.
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