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Fox News
24-06-2025
- Fox News
Hiker disappears from ‘Edge of the World' campground on trip with father
Arizona authorities made a dramatic rescue after a woman who went on a hike with her father went missing for three days. Coconino County officials responded to reports of a woman who had gone missing from a campsite in an area known as the "Edge of the World" around 10:30 p.m. on Friday, June 13. Janelle Banda, 32, had left her campsite and was believed to have descended a nearby canyon, the Coconino County Sheriff's Office said. The sheriff's search and rescue teams immediately began searching for Banda, "including a nighttime descent into the canyon," but despite their efforts on June 13, they did not find the missing woman that evening and continued their search over the weekend with support from other agencies. On Monday, the sheriff's search and rescue teams again descended into the canyon and successfully located Banda around noon. "She was found dehydrated and suffering from minor injuries," the sheriff's office said. Banda had been hiking with her father when she vanished from their campsite for unknown reasons, her sister, Sarah Banda, told FOX 10 Phoenix. "Even when we felt at our lowest, right, usually by the end of the day you feel it, right? It's dark, and we know she's alone, but we were like, wherever she is, we will find her," Sarah told the outlet. Now, Banda's family is focused on her recovery, and they are grateful for those who helped find her, her sister told FOX 10.
New York Post
23-06-2025
- New York Post
Hiker on trip with her dad survives 3 days after falling off ‘Edge of the World'
An Arizona woman fell into a canyon known as the 'Edge of the World' and managed to survive three day in the desert before she was rescued. Janelle Banda, 32, was on a father-daughter camping trip when she went for a walk and took a misstep that dropped her 400 feet into a steep canyon in Sedona, Arizona. For two and a half days, Banda suffered through the heat and cold as her family was 'very much mentally preparing for the worst,' her loved ones told The Arizona Republic. Advertisement Janelle Banda took a misstep and fell into a 400 foot canyon during a hike with her father. But Banda was ultimately saved by the Pima County sheriff's office, which airlifted her by helicopter on June 16. Her sister, Sarah Banda, 29, called the rescue 'nothing short of a miracle,' adding that she has 'an overwhelming amount of relief, joy.' Advertisement The sisters 'always had a love for the outdoors' and were seasoned hikers, but Janelle Banda's latest trip was her first trek at the Edge of the World — a popular beauty spot marked by towering rock formations and treacherous cliffs She and her father started their trip on June 11, Janelle Banda, an Etsy store owner, and her father started their trip on June 11. She then took a short walk away from their campsite on the night of June 12, when she was 'spooked by something' and lost her way in the woods, her sister said. 'If you walk the wrong way, down the wrong path, you could just end up walking and stepping where you shouldn't at the edge of the cliff,' Sarah Banda said. Advertisement Janelle Banda was found alive and rescued days after she disappeared. Coconino County Sheriff's Office via Storyful Janelle Banda made it out with two sprained ankles, cuts, bruising and some scrapes that resembled road burn. She was also extremely dehydrated when she was found. She spent one night in the hospital and is now resting with her parents, Sarah Banda said. 'She can't really move,' said Sarah Banda. 'She's in a lot of pain.' Advertisement 'There's obviously the mental toll of … the trauma of not just falling but being in the canyon alone,' she said. 'That's a different battle that she'll have to deal with.'
USA Today
23-06-2025
- General
- USA Today
'Nothing short of a miracle': Arizona woman survives after fall into Sedona-area canyon
Janelle Banda, 32, endured daytime heat and pitch-black nights before a helicopter rescue from the treacherous Edge of the World area near Sedona, AZ. The treacherous area near Sedona, Arizona, where Janelle Banda and her father were camping as part of a dad-daughter outing is known as the Edge of the World. Banda went on a walk in the area, rough terrain carved with steep cliffs and covered with thick forest, and nearly lost her life with a misstep that dropped her hundreds of feet and out of reach for days. She was stuck for two-and-a-half days, about 400 feet into a narrow canyon near the southern end of Woody Mountain Road. She endured extreme daytime heat, cold and pitch-black nights before a Pima County sheriff's helicopter rescue at noon on June 16. Sarah Banda, 29, was jolted with anxious energy when she learned that her older sister, 32, had been saved. "This has been nothing short of a miracle," Sarah Banda told The Arizona Republic, part of the USA TODAY Network. The positive outcome inspired "an overwhelming amount of relief, joy" in her and the sisters' parents. She said that by the third day, her sister was missing, the Phoenix-area family was "very much mentally preparing for the worst." Skilled hiker startled during short walk, sister says The news of Janelle Banda's rescue came after a long stretch of uncertainty but was preceded by optimism — searchers had realized she was alive. The sisters "always had a love for the outdoors" and had hiked throughout the Phoenix area, including Camelback Mountain, and on trails in Sedona, Sarah Banda said. But this was Janelle Banda's first visit to Edge of the World. She and her father were in the area since around June 11, Sarah Banda said. Janelle Banda, an Arizona State University dual-degree graduate and Etsy store owner, appears to have walked a short distance from her campsite the evening of June 13, when she became "spooked by something" after getting lost in the darkened woods, her sister said. "If you walk the wrong way, down the wrong path, you could just end up walking and stepping where you shouldn't at the edge of the cliff," Sarah Banda said about the Edge of the World. Their father and a nearby camper began looking for her, and shortly after, they called authorities. The search drew in the Coconino, Maricopa, and Yavapai county sheriff's offices, as well as the Arizona Department of Public Safety. Sarah Banda said the family was "immensely thankful" for those efforts and for the volunteers who "tirelessly" worked hundreds of hours to find her sister. Injuries sustained in fall include sprained ankles, bruising Janelle Banda managed to avoid broken bones and head and spinal injuries, her sister said. However, she did endure two sprained ankles and sustained cuts, bruising and skin scraping resembling road burn. She also suffered from extreme dehydration, Sarah Banda said. "She can't really move," said Sarah Banda. "She's in a lot of pain." Sarah Banda said her sister was released from the hospital on June 17 after an overnight stay. Janelle Banda's physical recovery includes a lot of rest and limited movement while under the care of their parents, she said. There will also be other healing, Sarah Banda said. "There's obviously the mental toll of ... the trauma of not just falling but being in the canyon alone," she said. "That's a different battle that she'll have to deal with."
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Yahoo
Woman Found 'Alive and Safe' at Bottom of Canyon Days After Vanishing from 'Perilous' Campsite
Sarah Banda, a 32-year-old woman who went missing on Friday, June 13, while camping with her father, has been found The camper was "located safe and alive" according to the Coconino County Sheriff's Office, who called off the search for Banda on Monday, June 16 Banda first disappeared when she walked away from the campsite she was sharing with her father, authorities saidA 32-year-old woman who went missing from the Edge of the World campsite in Flagstaff, Ariz. has been found after she was last seen on Friday, June 13. The Coconino County Sheriff's Office said that Janelle Banda had been "located alive and safe" on Monday, June 16, after she was reported missing when she walked away from her campsite while camping with her father, David Banda. While the sheriff did not share additional details, Janelle's sister Sarah Banda told Fox affiliate KSAV that Janelle was found by a member of the search team near the bottom of Bear Sign Canyon, which is located in the Coconino National Forest. The Coconino County and Pinal County sheriff's offices worked together on the rescue, Sam Salzwedel, a public information officer with the Pinal County Sheriff, shared with PEOPLE in an email statement. Janelle was located by a Coconino County search and rescue team on Monday, said Salzwedel, who added, "She was on steep terrain in a narrow canyon. Pinal County's helicopter was available to assist and hoist her out on our Huey helicopter." PEOPLE also reached out to the Coconino County Sheriff for more information about the rescue. Sarah said she had not yet seen her sister as of Monday, but told KASV, "I want to see her so badly. I was told that my dad got to talk to her, and she's saying that she just wants to see her family." She continued, "Truly, you're thinking, how do you go, for me, how do I go about without my sister? But now that she's here, I get to appreciate every moment that I have with her even more so than ever before." Janelle was last seen around 10:30 p.m. local time on Friday before she was declared missing, according to the original missing persons report shared by the Coconino County Sheriff. The original report said at the time that she "walked away from the camp with unknown intentions and has not returned." Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. The Edge of the World campground where Janelle and her father had been camping includes terrain that can be perilous due to "steep drop-offs," according to previous reporting from KSAV. Prior to her discovery, David, Janelle's father, told the outlet, "We were having an amazing time, but at the same time, this is a very dangerous place. Everybody should know to take every precaution when they come here to visit. The cliff, the canyons, it's extremely dangerous." Read the original article on People
