Tiffany Slaton, 27, was last heard from on April 20; her parents are pleading for her safe return
Search and Rescue teams are actively trying to locate 27-year-old Bermudian Tiffany Slaton, who went camping alone in the Shaver Lake/Huntington Lake area on 20 April and has not contacted her loved ones since.
According to the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, she was reportedly seen by members of the public on 24 April, but there have been no updates since – and now her parents are pleading for her safe return.
“Our children are our babies, no matter how old they are. I won’t wish this on anyone,” said Tiffany’s father, Bobby Slaton. “It’s really, really hard. It’s like time has completely stopped for us.”
Ms Slaton’s parents, who live in Georgia, say it’s not unusual for their daughter to travel alone – but what is unusual is the lack of communication.
“She is actually a travelling dialysis tech and she was working in Oregon but once that contract was over because it is a contracted job, she decided to knock off a few things off her bucket list and one of them is to see all 50 states and California was one of the last 4 states on her list,” explained her father.
He continued, “Tiffany has been accepted into medical school, and this was one of the things that she wanted to do before having to focus for the next eight years of her life in becoming an anaesthesiologist and she wanted to work on the Mercy ship.”
Tiffany embarked on her next adventure via electric bike, taking up work through a workaway programme in California, which led her to later visit the Mono Hot Springs in Fresno County.
Her parents began to grow concerned after they were unable to reach her by phone or text – something they say is highly unusual.
Authorities say she is believed to have been travelling with a green and grey tent and a trailer attached to her e-bike – none of which have been found.
The vastness of the area, combined with limited mobile service, has led authorities to consider the possibility that she may be lost.
Public Information Officer for the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, Tony Botti, said: “Area four as we call it, our mountain and our foot hill area – it’s the largest geographical area we cover in Fresno County. That is rugged terrain up there and we know that accidents can happen too so she may have lost her way and that’s something we have to consider – is she just not on the regular path that somebody would travel so that’s what’s going to take us time in order to scour those areas.”
At present, authorities say foul play is not suspected.
Tiffany’s parents also note that she is an experienced and capable camper, having developed a deep love for the outdoors.
She is also a world-class archer, having represented Bermuda in the NatWest Island Games, where she won a silver medal in 2017.
Mr Slaton said: “She is not just a silver medallist, she also loves nature, she enjoys plants. As far as a person, Tiffany has a heart of gold. We really just want her to come home and to know that there are people looking for her.”
Online, the response has been overwhelming. The Slaton family is receiving messages from people around the world who are rallying for Tiffany’s safe return.
Fredrina Slaton, Tiffany’s mother, said: “People are really digging into the internet and finding all kinds of information for us and trying to get Tiffany home – a lot of people we don’t even know, we’ve never even met – so we just want to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all the help you are giving for our family.”
Search and Rescue teams continue to comb the area by helicopter, horseback, and snowmobile.
Ms Slaton is described as being 5’10” in height, with brown eyes and black hair.
Anyone with information or sightings of her is urged to contact the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office at (559) 600-3111, with reference to the case number 25-4458.
