A woman who has been missing in the Sierra since the start of July was reportedly sighted this week by two men who didn’t realize who she was, the Madera County Sheriff’s Office said.
Sandra Johnsen Hughes has been the subject of a search since July 3. Her possessions, including personal documents, were found strewn around a campsite along Mugler Creek, in the Sierra National Forest about 10 miles south of Yosemite.
When the sheriff’s office contacted her family members, they said they had not heard from her since June 26.
On Sunday, Aug. 9, two hunters saw a woman leaning against a tree along Forest Road 5S01. She did not approach them or appear distressed, they said, but upon returning from the forest they realized she was the woman on a missing-persons flier.
They told the sheriff’s dispatcher that Hughes was noticeably thinner than in the recent photos on that flier.
The area where she was seen — near Portuguese Overlook, on Beasore Road — is within five miles of her last known campsite.
Her car, a silver Saab 9-5, was found on July 5 off a dirt road near the Chiquito Pass trailhead, five miles north of the campsite, according to a Facebook post from her niece. It had apparently hit a tree.
The effort to find Hughes has involved deputies, volunteers and searchers from other agencies, including the Air National Guard.
The sheriff’s office says that anyone who sees Hughes should let her know that her family is worried and then should contact the dispatcher to report the sighting. “This would be an appropriate use of 911,” the news release said.
