Missing Woman Found Near Fort Bragg

70-year-old Elizabeth Schenk 

Press release from the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Department:

On 5/23/2024 at approximately 4:00 P.M., Search and Rescue volunteers were able to locate and rescue missing person Elizabeth Schenk who was found in a heavily wooded area north of Fort Bragg, CA. Schenk had been missing since approximately 9:00 A.M. on Tuesday 5/21/2024 and had survived two nights and almost three days in the wilderness before being located and rescued by volunteers.

Schenk was transported numerous miles to the incident command post on Bruhel Point Road, where medical personnel were standing by to evaluate Schenk’s condition. As of the publishing of this press release, Schenk was being transported to the Adventist Health Mendocino Coast Hospital as a precautionary measure for testing and medical evaluation. Schenk’s condition was stable, she was in good spirits, and believed to have only suffered minor scratches and abrasions from her exposure to the wilderness for two days.

The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office and numerous Search and Rescue organizations had searched all night on Tuesday 5/21/2024, conducted additional searches on Wednesday 5/22/2024, and requested mutual-aid resources for another search on Thursday 5/23/2024. The area where Schenk went missing was described by searchers as containing extremely steep topography with overgrown vegetation and forestation, which slowed and hindered search efforts. Due to the treacherous terrain and tough wilderness conditions of the search area, additional Search and Rescue personnel were requested through the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) for the search planned on Thursday 5/23/2024.

During search efforts on Thursday 5/23/2024, there were 73 Search and Rescue volunteers deployed from numerous Northern California Counties. The search efforts on Thursday included 7 canines certified in scent trailing and area detection and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). During the mid-afternoon Thursday 5/23/2024, searchers located a clothing garment believed to be associated with Schenk and assigned additional searchers to saturate the area. Schenk was ultimately located approximately 200 yards from where the clothing garment was located and she was assessed at the scene before being transported to the command post.

Schenk’s family was present during search efforts conducted by the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office and were reunited with Schenk at the command post on Thursday 5/23/2024.

The success of this Search and Rescue mission was made possible by the dedication and efforts of countless Search and Rescue volunteers from numerous Northern California Counties, and many other first responder organizations who selflessly assisted with this operation. The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank all of the following organizations who assisted with this Search and Rescue operation:

Mendocino County Search and Rescue, Sonoma County Search and Rescue, Marin County Search and Rescue, Napa County Search and Rescue, Lake County Search and Rescue, San Mateo County Search and Rescue, Bay Area Mountain Rescue Unit, CALSAR, California National Guard, California Rescue Dog Association, California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, California Highway Patrol, Westport Volunteer Fire Department, and CAL FIRE.

Special thanks to the community members and businesses, specifically Harvest Market in Fort Bragg, CA, for their dedication and support towards feeding the Search and Rescue volunteers during this critical mission.

Earlier: Woman Missing After Stating She Was Lost on a Hike North of Fort Bragg