For nine long months, investigators searched in vain for missing Kelsey Pittman. Now, to the relief and surprise of many, the North Carolina woman has thankfully been found alive
To the relief of loved ones, missing Kelsey Pittman has been found, nine months after vanishing near the unforgiving Death Valley National Park, on the border of California and Nevada.
The North Carolina woman was first reported missing by family members back in November 2024. This, the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office (ICSO) stated back in May, was when the 33-year-old had contact with law enforcement in Utah.
On February 9, Kelsey’s 2009 Chevrolet HHR was discovered in a remote area known as “The Pads or Slab City”, located off Highway 190. Situated just outside the boundaries of the famously hot National Park, known for its harsh desert conditions, this lonely spot is “commonly used by campers during the winter months.”
With a clearer indication of Kelsey’s potential whereabouts, officers conducted a “thorough search of both the vehicle and the surrounding area”. However, Kelsey was nowhere to be found.
This, police say, “led to the initiation of an extensive missing person investigation and search effort”. According to a statement: “Between February and June 2025, ICSO coordinated with multiple law enforcement agencies, drone teams, cadaver dog handlers, and volunteer search and rescue crews. Despite exhaustive ground and aerial searches, no additional physical evidence was found at the site.”
Thankfully, this week, a miracle occurred. On Tuesday, July 22, ICSO announced that Kelsey had been found alive after many months of concern for her welfare. A statement read: “The Inyo County Sheriff’s Office is relieved to announce that Kelsey Pittman has been located alive in the state of Colorado.”
The statement continued: “Out of respect for her privacy and that of her family, no further details will be released.”
In the US, more than 600,000 individuals are reported missing every single year, as per the US Department of Justice. Thankfully, as per the World Population Review, the “vast majority of missing persons cases are quickly resolved”.
However, cases like Kelsey’s are relatively unusual given the amount of time that passed between her reported disappearance and subsequent discovery. Hopes of finding a missing person dwindle as time goes on, particularly in cases where the individual is vulnerable.
Such occurrences are not unheard of, though, giving hope to families around the world still waiting for news of long vanished loved ones. Such cases include the story of Brenda Heist, a mum of two from Pennsylvania who vanished in 2002 amid the upheaval of a divorce, BBC News previously reported.
As time went on, loved ones feared the worst, and in 2010, her estranged husband had Brenda declared legally dead and remarried. In 2013, Brenda resurfaced, having spent 11 years living as a vagrant.
In one particularly extraordinary case, Australian dad Gabriel Nagy vanished in 1987 and wasn’t seen for 23 long years. SBS News reports that, just two weeks before Gabriel was to be declared legally dead, a Medicare records check led investigators straight to him. The married father of two had suffered amnesia following a head injury, and had no clue he even had a family.
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