I had heard about this pretty miraculous story of a woman who went missing and was rescued in the Montana wilderness, so I checked it out and sure enough, it's a true story of survival.

Gloria Albright of Billings, and her husband were on a trail in the Little Belt Mountains, in an area about 40 miles southeast of Great Falls, when she became disoriented and they were separated. In her confused state, she attempted to return to where they were camping, but went the opposite way and became lost. She was reported missing on August 13th and was found and rescued on August 17th, about 3 miles from her original location, by the Wheatland County Sherriff's Office, Three Bear Air, and many other departments and Montanans who searched for the woman.

According to online records, Gloria is in her 70s, so you can imagine her family's distress during the time she was missing. After her rescue, she reported suffering a knee injury during her time in the forest with no food and water, also a swollen tongue due to dehydration. But my favorite part of her story is her recollection of hearing a rescue helicopter above and making the quick decision to wave them down with her pants. She said there she was, waving her pants in the air, and wondering if, in her rough state, that she would be able to get the pants back on her body before rescuers landed. She was wearing pants when she was rescued, by the way.

Gloria had also tried to put together a HELP sign that could be seen from above. Finally, she needed to rest and fell asleep in some grass but was awakened when she heard the sound of an engine. That's when she saw Forest Service Law Enforcement Officer Shawn Tripp coming toward her on a 4-wheeler and says he's a very large man that she hugged upon meeting. So a very happy end to a very scary ordeal! You can read details of an interview with Gloria, as relayed by Sheriff Everett Miner of the Wheatland County Sherriff's Department on Facebook here.

10 Smallest Towns in Montana

More From 96.9 Zoo FM