An Albuquerque woman has been found alive after being lost for an entire month in New Mexico's Gila National Forest. Rescuers found 41-year-old Margaret Page wrapped in a sleeping bag inside her car, almost four weeks after she was reported missing. According to local TV station KRQE, she had lost nearly a third of her body weight and was barely able to speak, but was kept company by her cat, who was sharing the sleeping bag and apparently never left her side. Page, who reportedly has a history of mental illness, had likely stayed alive by rationing the food she had with her in the car and getting water from a nearby creek.

Adding to the strangeness of the story are questions about why it took so long for rescuers to find Page, since her car was spotted in the forest almost immediately after she arrived there. Forest Service workers apparently first saw the car on February 10, four days before she was officially reported missing by Albuquerque police. On February 25, they ran the license plates, connected the car to the missing woman, and contacted local police. Yet, it appears that nothing was done for nearly two weeks, until yesterday when family members reached out to the State Police and a new search effort found Page within hours.

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Dashiell Bennett