The story of the woman rescued from Zion National Park 12 days after she disappeared has raised many questions. Now her sister it trying to provide clarity.
Jaime Strong describes her sister's recovery as a "miracle." Holly Courtier was last seen on October 6 after a private shuttle dropped her off in the park. She was scheduled to be picked up that afternoon but never appeared. She was found on October 18 after a park visitor spotted her lying near the river. She had been without food the entire time.
There have been questions about the entire ordeal. For one, she was found just half a mile from where she was last seen. The water source she was near was not a clean one. There's virtually no way she could have ingested that water and survived. Without water, she would have only survived for two to three days. Police have also questioned Holly's decision to go home without medical attention after her rescue.
Jaime tried to provide some clarity on the situation in an interview with Today, giving insight into her sister's behavior.
The story of a woman rescued from Zion National Park 12 days after she disappeared has raised questions. Holly Courtier was rescued on October 18 after last being seen October 6. She is said to have had no food or water during that time and was found near a river that was not a suitable water source, just half a mile from where she was last seen.
Visitors were warned that the Virgin River was not suitable for any form of contact, let alone ingestion. She couldn't have drunk that water, but she had to have had some sort of water with her in order for her to have lived longer than three days.
"If she had been drinking that water, unless she had some really high immune system, she would've been very, very ill and probably unable to come out on her own," Washington County Sheriff's Search and Rescue Sgt. Darrell Cashin told ABC4.
"She either took a lot of water with her or had another clean water source that was near here, but the Virgin River is not that source," he continued.
He maintained that, based on his experience as an advanced EMT and the liaison of the county's search and rescue for nine years, he finds "discrepancies and questions that do not add up."
Another detail that doesn't make sense to him is Holly's decision to leave the scene without medical attention. She was said to have blacked out in the park after obtaining a head injury.
"If we had found somebody in that condition with that kind of severe head injury, we would have at minimum called for a transport agency to check her out," Sgt. Cashin noted.
"The fact that that didn't happen tells me that they did not find any significant injury to her that would've prompted them to do that. Physically, she seemed to be in a condition that did not warrant an ambulance and they felt was comfortable to release her to her family to address."
Holly was also found in an area that had been searched, as it was only half a mile from where she was last seen.
"She's in that main part of the canyon, which always has thousands of people walking up and down those trails. I'm sure people walked by yelling for her," the sergeant noted.
"The statements that the family is giving and the statements that the park is giving don't add up. Those are the types of questions I think everybody has. I think the place where that question can be answered is with her."
Now Holly's older sister, Jaime Strong, is talking about the experience, describing Holly's rescue as a "miracle."
"I think God got her through this," Jaime told Today.
"I think it's a miracle. I truly believe there is no reason she should be alive. It doesn't make sense. She didn't have the proper gear, and she didn't have food or water."
Jaime says Holly lost around 15 pounds from not eating or drinking during those 12 days. Additionally, she hadn't eaten for a few days prior because she was fasting.
"When I walked in the room and saw how emaciated she was, I lost it," Jaime said.
"It was like seeing someone who had aged 30 years in 12 days. It was horrific, but at that point I was so happy to see her it didn't matter."
Despite the fact Holly was found near the river, her sister clarified she hadn't drunk any of the water.
"She said she didn't have anything to drink at all. She was very well aware of the toxins in the river," she said.
"There was a statement made that she said she set up camp because she wanted to stay close to the river, but we were never implying that she drank the water."
Holly is an experienced hiker. In addition to dehydration, she's believed to have suffered a concussion.
Jaime says Holly saw someone and tried to yell for help, but couldn't. She was unable to open her mouth.
Holly was rescued on the day that park rangers told her family they were winding down the active search. They told them the chances of finding her alive, at that point, were slim. Jaime's husband saw search signs being taken down and angrily asked why, only to find out Holly had just been found.
Jaime says that Holly has checked herself into a mental wellness facility. She'd only planned on being in the park for a day or two during her "journey of fasting," disconnecting from technology and reading her Bible.
"I don't think that her mental state was good when she went into the park," Jaime said.
"I really think she had a mental breakdown and was not in the right state of mind when she decided to take this journey and not tell people where she was going."
Holly recently lost her job as a nanny during the health crisis. There have also been some other events in her life that may be contributing to her struggles with her mental health.
"She has definitely been through some trauma over the past several years," she said.
"I don't think she's properly dealt with it and gotten the proper help for it, and now is the time."
As for the skepticism around Holly's story, especially by those involved in the search, Jamie is dismissive of it.
"It's just so blown out of proportion," she said.
"When you think you're going to die and you see a ranger, she said she literally got like giddy inside because she knew she was going to see her daughter and her family, so you definitely have some adrenaline working for you at that point."
Jaime says the family took Holly to the hospital.
"She was very scared and traumatized, and she wanted to leave the park in my car with me and my husband and her daughter, and we drove her straight to the emergency room, so things have just been twisted," Jaime says.
Jaime and the rest of the family are grateful for all that's been done.
"I think that's what carried her through was people praying for her. I've never seen so many kind people."
