A North Carolina resident was shockingly found alive nine months after she went missing and her car was discovered abandoned near California’s Death Valley National Park.
“The Inyo County Sheriff’s Office is relieved to announce that Kelsey Pittman has been located alive in the state of Colorado,” the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook Tuesday.
Police did not provide details about how Pittman vanished or where she had spent the past nine months before she was discovered three states away.
“Out of respect for her privacy and that of her family, no further details will be released,” authorities added.
Pittman’s family reported the 33-year-old missing in November 2024, which is when she had contact with law enforcement in Utah, the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office said in May.
Deputies and the Death Valley National Park Service launched a months-long search for Pittman after her car was found in a remote area located off Highway 190 on Feb. 9, 2025.
The secluded spot is private property called “Slab City,” which is located outside of the park’s boundaries and “commonly used by campers during the winter months,” according to police.
However, authorities were not able to find any “additional physical evidence” regarding her disappearance after ground and aerial searches.
“Upon arrival, deputies confirmed the vehicle—a 2009 Chevrolet HHR—was registered to Kelsey Pittman,” the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office added in their recent statement on Tuesday. “A thorough search of both the vehicle and the surrounding area, however, revealed no sign of Pittman. This led to the initiation of an extensive missing person investigation and search effort.”
Between February and June 2025, a series of drone teams, cadaver dog handlers and volunteer search and rescue crews looked for Pittman but came up empty until Tuesday.
Pittman is one of a series of missing people who were found alive in unexpected ways in recent months.
Hiker Tiffany Slaton was found in May 2025, three weeks after she went missing in California’s eastern Sierra Nevada mountains.
Slaton was caught in a blizzard and survived by taking shelter in an unlocked cabin at a closed resort.
The hiker survived by eating leeks before the resort owner discovered her and fed her a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
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