Reporter found naked, dehydrated and covered in cactus spikes FIVE DAYS after getting lost on desert hike when her usual route was closed due to government shutdown

Cathy Frye nearly died of dehydration during trip to celebrate wedding anniversary

43-year-old mother found naked and sun burnt two days after husband went in search of help

A reporter has been found five days after she went missing while out hiking with her husband on a desert trail.



Cathy Frye was found naked, dehydrated, sun burnt and covered in cactus spikes by a rescue party in Big Bend Ranch State Park in Texas on Sunday.



The Arkansas couple had arrived in the 300,000-acre rugged park on Wednesday after their planned route through a national park was barred because of the government shutdown.

Scroll down for video

Rescued: Cathy Frye is lifted into a helicopter by rangers after spending five days in the Texas desert

Ordeal: Mother-of-two Cathy, who is recovering in hospital, thought she would never see her children again

After losing their way, and running out of food and water in the Chihuahuan desert wilderness, Ms Frye's husband, Rick McFarland, left her under a small tree on Friday and tried to find help.



They had been in the park to celebrate their wedding anniversary, after getting married in the desert region in 2001.



Mr McFarland, a photographer at the same Little Rock paper Ms Frye, 43, works for, used his camera lens to help him spot their car.



He drove to a ranger's station to raise the alarm and a rescue team found his wife at about noon on Sunday, severely dehydrated but in good spirits, close to where her husband had left her.

She had become disorientated, was severely dehydrated, and had taken off her clothes in an attempt to stay cool, according to Arkansas Business .



It was the type of ordeal typically covered by the couple at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette newspaper.

The mother-of-two said she used skills she had read about, such as trying to stay in place during the hottest points of the day, to help her survive.

Lost: Cathy Frye and her husband Rick McFarland got lost in a rugged state park in Texas



Ms Frye, who is recovering in hospital, said she feared she would never see her two children again, adding: 'How do you die knowing that your two kids are going to think your parents went off on some joy hike.'

The previous winner of the Livingston press award, said she didn't want to be left behind, but knew the couple's only chance of survival was if husband went on ahead.

''I didn't want to die by myself but I knew we had to do something,' she told ABC News from her hospital bed.



Rescuers found the award-winning writer, who has covered disasters such as an Arkansas campsite flooding that killed 20 people, in a dry creek.



Her 58-year-old husband, who was able to drive to a ranger's station and raise the alarm, told friends in a text message: 'I've not seen her yet, but overjoyed is nowhere near how I feel.'

Amy Upshaw Webb, a friend and former colleague of the couple, said she took comfort in knowing that Ms Frye was a seasoned reporter who had covered major disasters.





Trail: When their usual route was closed the couple headed to Big Bend Ranch State Park, a remote area covering 300,000 acres

Lost: Rick McFarland looks at a map of the rugged terrain where he and his wife were lost

'She's a preparer. If anybody could be prepared for something like this, I'm sure Cathy at one time or another read about this type of situation,' she said.



The couple regularly hike in the nearby Big Bend National Park on the Mexican border, and had planned to spend time there on Tuesday last week, but the government shutdown forced them to change their plans.



On Wednesday they followed a trail in Big Bend Ranch State Park, which was open, but got lost and by the first night were already out of water according to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

They found the trail the next morning but soon became disorientated again, and then Ms Frye accidentally lost a bag containing food.



By Friday, after another day sleeping in the desert Mr McFarland decided to go on ahead to find help.



The couple's only water had come from a spring they found and, with the the low nighttime temperatures, both were showing early signs of hypothermia, according to Texas Game Wardens .



He walked to a ridge and used his camera to zoom in on the horizon and find their car by looking for sun glinting off the windows, but it took him until Saturday to reach it.



'It hit me really hard when I went to my truck ... all her stuff was just laid out,' the photographer said.



More than 35 people were involved in the search for his wife, including Border Patrol agents and the Texas Department of Public Safety.



Ms Frye was eventually spotted by a park police officer, and she was airlifted to hospital.



Fernando Rincon, who was part of the search party, said the first thing Ms Frye asked about was whether her husband was OK.



Despair: Rick McFarland says it was hard leaving his wife behind as he went in search of help

Destination: The couple had planned to spend their anniversary in Big Bend National Park but it was closed because of the government shutdown

'She asked how how husband was doing and said "Thank God you found me".' Mr Rincon said.



David Bailey, managing editor of the newspaper the couple work at, said when they heard Ms Frye had been found the staff's mood went from 'really, really somber to ecstatic in a heartbeat'.

'I think we're all just exhausted now, but it's happy exhaustion,' Mr Bailey said.

Unfortunately your browser does not support IFrames.