When the Vermilion Valley Resort in California’s eastern Sierra shut down for the winter, the staff left cabin doors unlocked just in case a wayward hiker needed shelter during the frequent mountain snowstorms.

Tiffany Slaton, a Georgia woman who went missing for weeks while hiking in California's Sierra Nevada, was found alive inside a cabin that was inaccessible to vehicles due to the snowpack.

When the Vermilion Valley Resort in California’s eastern Sierra shut down for the winter, the staff left cabin doors unlocked just in case a wayward hiker needed shelter during the frequent mountain s