Woman, 41, found alive after being stranded in national forest for a MONTH (and her cat never left her side)



Lucky: Margaret Page went into the forest February 10 and wasn't rescued until Wednesday

A woman who was missing for nearly a month has been found alive in New Mexico's Gila National Forest.

Search crews said they found 41-year-old Margaret Page of Albuquerque on Wednesday along with her cat, Maya, who apparently never left her side.

Page was barely able to speak and had lost one third of her body weight, but was able to stay warm thanks to her thick blue sleeping bag, authorities said.

She likely had been stranded in the Gila for the past three weeks, eating food she had brought with her and drinking water from a nearby creek.

Page told crews that she ran out of food about a week ago.

What's unclear, though, is how she became stranded. Her sleeping bag was found just 25 yards from a trail.

She went to the national forest after telling her mother she was going to Florida.



Additionally, her rescue raised questions about why it took more than two weeks for anyone to realize she was stranded.



KRQE-TV reported that Forest Service workers spotted Page's car by the Gila Trailhead on February 10.



But it wasn't until February 25 that the Forest Service ran the plates on the car and, realizing it belonged to Page, Albuquerque police were contacted.

'It looks to me like somebody dropped the ball on this one,' search expert Robert Matulic told the Las Cruces Sun-News.



State police out of Silver City said they were contacted by Page's sister earlier this week and immediately launched a search effort in the Gila.

Delay: Rescuers didn't realize Page had gone missing for more than two weeks after she walked into the wilderness and got stuck in a canyon

Faithful companion: Page's cat Maya stuck with her through the entire ordeal

Her sleeping bag was spotted Wednesday about a mile up from the Railroad Canyon Trail.

Albuquerque police said they were looking into why it took two weeks to launch the search for Page.

Page only allowed herself to be carried out of the canyon after rescuers assured her that her cat would be cared for as well.



Unlike Page, who lost so much weight she had to be hospitalized, Maya was hardly the worse for the wear -- 'a little sluggish and a little bit thin,' one searcher noted.

None the worse for wear: Maya was reportedly 'a little sluggish and a little thin,' but otherwise fared well