A Utah woman’s adventure along California’s rugged Central Coast ended with a trip in a rescue helicopter over the weekend.
The woman and her husband were staying at the Ragged Point Inn along the Big Sur cliffs when she decided to go rock hunting alone at low tide early Sunday, according to the California Highway Patrol.
CHP responded when the woman didn’t return to the hotel.
Due to heavy fog at the Paso Robles Airport and a marine layer over Highway 1, the CHP helicopter couldn’t start searching until about 1:30 p.m. Search crews found her vehicle at a turnout north of Kirk Creek Campground on Highway 1 and began focusing on the nearby shoreline.
The woman was eventually spotted on a narrow rocky beach.
A video from CHP’s Coastal Division Air Operations shows the helicopter landing on a small patch of sand about 200 yards away.
A flight officer escorted her back to the helicopter, and she was flown to her vehicle, where she reunited with her husband.
TMX contributed to this report.