A woman who survived two days alone in the wilderness without food, water and shelter at just six-years-old says her imaginary friend “kept her calm”.
Haley Zega, 27, got lost whilst on a hike with her grandparents and friends in the Ozark Mountains, Arkansas, US.
She became separated from her grandparents - Jay and Joyce Hale - near a waterfall and took the wrong path, leaving her "immediately alone".
Haley spent the next 52 hours trying to navigate her way out of the huge Ozark National Forest aided only by her imaginary friend, Alicia - while 1,000 people looked for her.
She trekked along the Buffalo River hoping it would lead to a bridge and eventually a town – sleeping out in the open.
After two days without food or water, Haley was rescued by two men - William Jeff Villines and Lytle James - and carried her on the back of their mules to safety.
Haley, an actress from Fayetteville, Arkansas, US, said: "I've never really been a panicker and in extreme life or death situations I'm calm and in problem solving mode and that's how I felt throughout.
"From the minute I was lost I had this imaginary friend, Alicia, who kept me calm and on task and was nothing but a positive presence for me whilst I was missing.
"There were times I didn't want to be out there and the nights were pretty difficult being alone in the dark, with nothing.
"I was not having a good time, but it never occurred to me that I wouldn't be okay.
"I think if I'd been any younger I would have sat down and cried and had I been older I would have known how serious the situation was and not to move.
"The place I went missing is probably the most rural area between The Appalachian Mountains and Rocky Mountains."
The group had hiked to the Whittaker Point area of the Ozark National Forest in April 29 2001, when a “tired and fussy” Haley insisted her grandparents take her down to see a waterfall she had spotted.
They refused and adopted the "classic" move of turning to leave - knowing Haley would eventually follow.
Haley did but found herself alone after taking a separate trail, thinking it would meet back up with her grandparents.
Once lost, she decided her best bet was to be near the river.
Haley said: "I was thinking that it would eventually lead to a gas station where I could call my parents.
"I was shouting my parents names and their phone numbers.
"There were helicopters overhead and I started throwing sand from the riverbank into the air, but they never saw me.
"I was wearing a grey shirt, black shorts, so I wasn't very visible, and annoyingly I'd left a red sweatshirt in the truck.
"It was kind of a perfect storm of small bad decisions."
At night, Haley swam to an open rock in the middle of the river to sleep – believing she needed to be out in the open to get spotted – but said it was a “miracle” she didn’t drown.
Haley continued along the riverbank the next day, whilst unbeknownst to her one of the biggest organised searches in Arkansas history.
Haley Zega, 27, got lost whilst on a hike with her grandparents and friends in the Ozark Mountains, Arkansas, US.
She became separated from her grandparents - Jay and Joyce Hale - near a waterfall and took the wrong path, leaving her "immediately alone".
Haley spent the next 52 hours trying to navigate her way out of the huge Ozark National Forest aided only by her imaginary friend, Alicia - while 1,000 people looked for her.
She trekked along the Buffalo River hoping it would lead to a bridge and eventually a town – sleeping out in the open.
After two days without food or water, Haley was rescued by two men - William Jeff Villines and Lytle James - and carried her on the back of their mules to safety.
Haley, an actress from Fayetteville, Arkansas, US, said: "I've never really been a panicker and in extreme life or death situations I'm calm and in problem solving mode and that's how I felt throughout.
"From the minute I was lost I had this imaginary friend, Alicia, who kept me calm and on task and was nothing but a positive presence for me whilst I was missing.
"There were times I didn't want to be out there and the nights were pretty difficult being alone in the dark, with nothing.
"I was not having a good time, but it never occurred to me that I wouldn't be okay.
"I think if I'd been any younger I would have sat down and cried and had I been older I would have known how serious the situation was and not to move.
"The place I went missing is probably the most rural area between The Appalachian Mountains and Rocky Mountains."
The group had hiked to the Whittaker Point area of the Ozark National Forest in April 29 2001, when a “tired and fussy” Haley insisted her grandparents take her down to see a waterfall she had spotted.
They refused and adopted the "classic" move of turning to leave - knowing Haley would eventually follow.
Haley did but found herself alone after taking a separate trail, thinking it would meet back up with her grandparents.
Once lost, she decided her best bet was to be near the river.
Haley said: "I was thinking that it would eventually lead to a gas station where I could call my parents.
"I was shouting my parents names and their phone numbers.
"There were helicopters overhead and I started throwing sand from the riverbank into the air, but they never saw me.
"I was wearing a grey shirt, black shorts, so I wasn't very visible, and annoyingly I'd left a red sweatshirt in the truck.
"It was kind of a perfect storm of small bad decisions."
At night, Haley swam to an open rock in the middle of the river to sleep – believing she needed to be out in the open to get spotted – but said it was a “miracle” she didn’t drown.
Haley continued along the riverbank the next day, whilst unbeknownst to her one of the biggest organised searches in Arkansas history.
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