Utah girl describes experience getting lost in Uinta Mountains

ROOSEVELT — A 14-year-old girl from Cache Valley is safe after getting lost in the Uinta Mountains in eastern Utah.

Maya Suisse told KSL TV in a one-on-one interview Friday that she went to the bathroom the day before while with her family, in the Painters Basin area near Kidney Lakes, but she got lost on the way back.

Related: Missing 14-year-old girl found 24 hours after disappearance in the Uinta Mountains

She ended up spending the night in the woods. Searchers found her Friday afternoon, more than 24 hours after she was first reported missing.

“I found a rock,” Maya said. “It was a pretty nice rock, and then I slept on the rock.”

The teen was surprisingly calm about what she had just experienced.

“Everybody was a lot more worried about me than I was,” she said, smiling.

Maya was found Friday afternoon by a helicopter that was assisting in the search. Duchesne County Sheriff’s Capt. John Crowley said the area where the teen got lost was “super dense.”

Maya’s mother, Tami Suisse, said she ran and hugged her daughter when she was brought off the mountain.

“I’m so relieved and so grateful to have her safe, and so thankful to all of the people that helped find her,” Tami Suisse said. “Duchesne County search and rescue, their sheriff’s department — they were amazing to work with. So, very grateful to them and grateful that she is safe and not injured.”

Maya was in good condition when she was found, officials said. She told KSL TV she was most looking forward to taking a shower.