A 36-year-old California woman went missing for nearly 18 hours during a YouTube survival challenge in Pigeon River State Forest. State troopers helped the Otsego County Sheriff’s Office find her on September 6. Michigan State Police has shared a video of the moment a police helicopter spotted her in the jungle.

The woman reportedly went missing after leaving her camp in Pigeon River Forest to fetch water. When she did not return, contest hosts searched before calling 911 at 5 AM on September 6.

A coordinated search began with canine units and the Aviation Unit’s Trooper 6 helicopter. A recent ice storm damaged the forest area, making the search tougher.

Around 10:40 AM, a Michigan State Police helicopter found her deep in a swampy area. Ground officers reached her with the helicopter crew’s guidance.

The woman walked out on her own. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) checked her and released her as she was without serious injuries. Police confirmed she was safe and well.

“Great work by all first responders on scene!” MSP Seventh District wrote on Twitter (now X).

“We were very relieved, and I know all of the first responders were relieved when we were able to rescue her,” local media quoted Lieutenant Ashley Miller as saying.

“It’s very easy to get lost. The Pigeon River Forest is very large and it’s dense. With the recent ice storm, it’s very heavily wooded, and it’s very hard to navigate at times, and there is absolutely no cellular service out there at all,” Lieutenant Miller added.

Social media reactions

One user pointed out that the video footage shows the date as August 30. When asked for the reason behind it, the official handle responded.

“I’m not sure. I’ll make sure to tell them to set the correct date on the camera. It was from September 6,” wrote MSP Seventh District.

“Those cameras are awesome; it makes me happy I’m not doing anything crazy anymore,” a user quipped.

“Wild that a YouTube survival challenge led to a multi-agency search. Hope she’s okay. Makes you think about the real-world risks of these online stunts,” commented one social media user.

However, not everyone was impressed. An X user expressed frustration over the California woman “wasting local resources”.

“Californians coming here and wasting our taxes. That b**ch needs to be fined,” came from the user.

Another user echoed similar concerns, “Are you going to bill the organisers of this YouTube survival challenge because you should on behalf of taxpayers?”

“It’s not a survival challenge if search and rescue are called. It’s just a “don’t get lost” challenge,” came from another.