Hikers going missing in national parks and forests isn't unheard of, in fact, thousands are reported to go missing in these areas each year, never to be seen or heard from again

Hikers going missing in national parks and forests isn't unheard of, in fact, thousands are reported to go missing in these areas each year, never to be seen or heard from again. Amongst the overwhelming number of such cases, this one is quite baffling.

Sandra Hughes, then 54, was a free-spirited, outdoor savvy woman, who was passionate about nature her whole life. This tremendous passion drew her to become trained in park ranging as a young adult. It also helped her become skilled in surviving the brutal conditions of the forests. Her interests culminated in her becoming an avid hiker and a survivalist.

When the pandemic hit the globe in 2020, Sandra, perturbed by the ensuing chaos, decided to step away from the real world and into the forest for a long hike. She left to the Sierra National forest in June of that year, well prepared for the hike ahead of her.

Sierra national forest, Source— Yosemite.com

A few days into her hike, Sandra's family stopped hearing from her although it wasn't particularly concerning to them, given her long list of previous hikes and competence for surviving in the woods.

However, the following month, on July 5th, a group of hikers reported to the authorities, about an abandoned tent in an area of the Sierra national forest known as the ’Johnson meadows’. Inside the tent, which seemed to have been rummaged through, items belonging to Sandra were discovered including her ID. A lot of her belongings seemed to be randomly scattered around the tent. Sandra, however was nowhere to be found. This incident was reported by the authorities to her family who later lodged a missing person's report on Sandra. 

Posters were made of Sandra, detailing her appearance and her distinctive blue hair. The posters were distributed all across the national forest and parks surrounding the area. The search for Sandra also ensued which involved the combined efforts of multiple authorities including the Madera County Sheriff's department, California air national guard and several other agencies.

Source— Daily mail.

A few days following the discovery of the tent, an abandoned car was found in Chiquito's creek, which was several miles from where the tent was found. It was also confirmed to belong to Sandra Hughes. The car and the tent, although found rather close to each other, did not have any connecting roads besides narrow trails. The car also seemed to have tumbled down a steep hill as evidenced by the condition it was found in.

Following the discovery of the car, police theorized that Sandra was injured and disoriented from the car accident and perhaps completely lost her way through the forest. Still, despite the findings of her possessions, Sandra was never sighted during the search.

However, regular hikers reported to have encountered a blue haired woman, that looked exactly like Sandra Hughes on the posters, while on their hike. The first report came a day before her tent was found. The hikers alleged that they came across blue haired woman, in black shirt and jeans, hiking alone, looking slightly disheveled with a prominent bruise on her face. Despite their offering of help, the woman had apparently refused.

A second encounter with Sandra, was reported by two other hikers in August, a month after the first sighting, somewhere in Chiquito’s creek, where her car was found. They reported to the authorities that a blue haired woman, who strongly resembled Sandra Hughes but slightly emaciated, was leaning against a tree, bare foot, staring off at a distance, wearing floral shirt and pants. When the hikers who were driving by initiated contact with her, a rather disoriented Sandra did not respond but continued to stare aimlessly ahead.

This was the last of her alleged sightings in the area she'd gone missing in. Her disappearance and concomitant findings suggested that she was hiking northwards to the Yosemite National park. The search area was hence broadened but inspite of the continuous efforts, no signs of Sandra Hughes were found. The search was eventually called off.

It wasn't until a year later in June of 2021, when some development in the Sandra Hughes case was seen and it happened due yet another unexpected circumstance- an eery encounter with the missing woman herself.

When a family of four went hiking in the Sierra national forest and decided to camp out near Shuteyes’ peak for lunch, the parents witnessed their 3 year of son who was still in the car, apparently talking to some invisible being in the woods nearby through the car window. When asked, he explained that he was talking to a dead woman who was laying on her stomach on the forest floor and that she'd desperately needed their help. Also, the kid described the said woman to have vibrant blue hair.

Terrified by this, the parents immediately left the area and later that day posted on social media about the chilly incident. As soon as the post started gaining attention, given that the details of the description matched with the missing Sandra Hughes, authorities on the case immediately contacted the family who were then made aware of the missing woman. 

The child in question, correctly identified Sandra from a bunch of different photos of missing people, confirming his encounter a few days prior in the area that was later found to be only a few miles away from Johnson meadows, Sandra Hughes initial camping spot.

Johnson's meadows, Source- Sierra REC magazine.

However, besides this latest development, no other substantial leads were found and the case remains unsolved to this day, with absolutely no clue about Sandra, her whereabouts or her potential remains

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