She was "lost" for 9 days but would have been found on the day she left her car (day 3), had she stayed put. Without pressing injuries or other immediate threats (water can be rationed, food is not important), there was no reason to leave her car when it was on a road and people presumably were expecting her and would report her missing when she didn't show up. It's a good thing they found her, and this wasn't another "Death Valley Germans" type story.We spent the first two nights inside the car huddled underneath layers of clothing to try to stay warm. On the third day we had very little food and water left. Queenie and I set out to search for more, leaving Nike in the car.
[...]
I later learned that a search for me had begun six days earlier, after my car [was] found.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyl ... -nine-days