Wilderness Reality Shows Helped Teen Girl After Plane Crash

16-year-old Autumn Veatch was in a small plane with relatives that crashed into the wilderness in north Washington. After sitting with her dead loved ones for a day waiting for rescue, she decided to walk to safety. After walking with no food or water through the woods for two days she found a road, then a driver who took her to a store where they called 9-1-1.

When her dad arrived to see her for the first time since the crash she told him all those wilderness survival shows they'd watched together helped her out.

Do I think she started a fire with sticks or used grass fiber to tie together sticks for a lean to? Did she eat maggots and crawl inside the carcass of a deer to stay warm? Of course not, but it no doubt gave her confidence. As she started off into the vast unknown on foot she was probably scared, but had also seen people brave arctic winters, African jungles, alligator-infested swamps and more. She knew the basics: signs of dehydration, signs of hypothermia, how to find a warm place to sleep, etc.

We'll no doubt be hearing more from Autumn. What an amazing story.