Two sisters ages 8 & 5 were lost in the woods and found 44 hours later after a firefighter discovered and followed ‘small steps.’ They were around two miles away from their home. Caroline and Leia Carrico were last seen on Friday afternoon and found around 10:30 am on Sunday. Allegedly the girls were taking a walk along the woods but ended up getting lost.  Police reported the girls to be in an uninjured state, only suffering from dehydration.  They also described the sisters reappearance as a miracle.

After days of heavy rain the Friday skies were clear and the girls became excited to finally be able to play outside.  The were waiting on their mother to join them, she was busy finishing house chores and the girls were impatient; eventually, they ended up going outside and walking along the woods alone. After being unable to find the girls, they alerted the police and began a search around the area. It wasn’t easy however because the girls had been walking along the forest and they could’ve been anywhere. Luckily, fire fighter Abram Hill and Fire Chief Delbert Crumley found small footsteps which they followed to the girls. They were found under a fallen Huckleberry branch. Immediately they provided the girls water and warm clothes. When the girls’ mother was given the good news “She melted on the phone, we had to hang up because she couldn’t talk.” She also believed the reason her daughter survived was their 4-H training.

The sisters described how a fallen Huckleberry branch provided them with protection, and how they used one of their small raincoats as a blanket as they slept. They both admitted to being scared at first but decided to stay calm and together. Although the girls were dehydrated, they reported to have drank the collected water off the huckleberry branch leaves. Leia, 8 said, “It felt so cold our hands turned white…Our bellies grumbled the whole night.”