Missing Yosemite worker survives 35-foot plunge

We’ve all heard the stories. Someone goes off exploring Yosemite on their own and is never heard from again, presumed to have fallen off any one of the spectacular falls or vistas that make Yosemite Valley so special.

The same was thought of Jessica Rose Garcia, a 23-year-old from Ceres who had spent the summer working in the valley.

Three days passed since she had gone missing while on a hike. Her family feared the worst before a rescue team spotted her — alive but injured — around midday on Tuesday.

Garcia apparently fell 35 feet while exploring trails near Wawona base sometime Sunday, when she was last seen.

Hotel workers called for a search the day after her fall when she mysteriously did not show up for her first day at work at the Wawona Hotel.

Garcia was found Tuesday with a broken leg and pelvis. She was left without food or water the entire time.

She is currently recovering from the accident. Her aunt, Darlene Cunningham, told the Fresno Bee the worried family is relieved to know Jessica is safe:

We’re all happy she’s alive. We always had hope, but as each day passed, we were definitely more stressed and more nervous about her survival. “We knew she was young and strong and had that in her to make it through.”