Hikers Missing In Stanislaus National Forest Found Safe

TUOLUMNE COUNTY (CBS13) — Two hikers missing for days in Tuolumne County are safe after agencies spent several days searching for them and their dog.

Donna Hallberg and her boyfriend Mark Smallwood are home safe after a weeklong ordeal in the Stanislaus National Forest.

At the hikers' restaurant in Downtown Modesto, there was joy and relief after employees learned their boss was safe and uninjured.

Rescue crews found the couple and their dog Lulu when they used a camper's cellphone to call home.

Those campers who were complete strangers fed the couple until help arrived.

"They couldn't find us, because we kept moving," Smallwood said. "It was probably our fault. We could not stay put like they say. But when the helicopter flies over you a couple of times and they don't stop, you've gotta fend for yourself and that's what we did. It was an amazing experience. We saw a lot of the country that we've never seen before, probably never will again."

So what happened up there?

"We took the long way home. We decided to take a hike to a lake, there was no trail and the conditions, a super amount of snow, rough terrain. It took us farther to get there than we thought. We just kept running into obstacles and Mother Nature doesn't make it easy for you."