Missing nurse is found alive in California’s Sequoia National Park

A Mississippi nurse who went missing five days ago has been found alive in a California national park after rescue helicopters spotted the S.O.S message she had spelled out with rocks. 

Mary Joanna Gomez, 56, was found on Monday about 3.5 miles from where she had parked her vehicle in Sequoia National Park.

Gomez, who lives in Jackson, was staying in the San Francisco area while on assignment as a traveling nurse.

She decided to go hiking on her day off last Wednesday. She first visited nearby Kings Canyon National Park and texted photos of the scenery to her daughter the following day.

Her family reported her missing to the San Francisco Police Department when she failed to show for her nursing shift on Friday. 

The National Park Service managed to narrow down Gomez’s location to Sequoia National Park after staff spotted her around the area on Saturday morning. 

Gomez was located on Monday (above) by search teams after they spotted her S.O.S message that she had spelled out on rocks. Authorities said Gomez was ‘cold, thirsty and hungry’ but otherwise in good health

Gomez decided to go hiking on her day off last Wednesday and sent her daughter photos of the scenery. She was reported missing when she failed to show for her nursing shift on Friday

Authorities launched a wide-scale search for the missing nurse using search dogs and rescue helicopters.

Her car was found near a hiking trail on Sunday night.  

A California Air National Guard aircraft spotted an S.O.S message on Monday that had been spelled out on the ground with rocks.

Search teams on foot were then able to track down Gomez nearby. 

She was found in rocky and steep terrain about 3.5 miles from where search teams found her car. 

The spot where she was found was close to a four mile hiking trail. 

Authorities said Gomez was ‘cold, thirsty and hungry’ but otherwise in good health.