Maine woman survives 4 days in Garfield County desert

"It's a rather hard and not a very often used trail," Bronson said. "It's very remote, rugged, difficult terrain. It's not a simple hike. Where she was, it's difficult for the best, most experienced hikers."

By Friday, when they were still unable to locate her, deputies called in the Utah Highway Patrol search helicopter. Search and rescue teams on horseback spotted her tracks leading downstream, and she was spotted by air at 9:30 a.m. Saturday.

"It's truly a miraculous survival," said Garfield County sheriff's deputy Ray Gardner. "If we hadn't been able to find her car rental agreement to locate her car, we'd still be looking for her, and I feel certain she wouldn't have survived much longer."

Grover, who works as a physician's assistant, told deputies she survived by laying in the sun during the daylight to sleep and staying awake at night.

"Temperatures got down to 38 degrees at night, and she survived it," Bronson said. "Somebody was watching out for her."

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