A missing Florida camper was found about five miles away from the Georgia park she disappeared from, officials said Wednesday.
Lynn Bresee, 54, was reported missing Monday just before midnight by a male travelling companion in Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest in central north Georgia.
The couple "wanted to walk the Appalachian Trail" said Dawson County Sheriff's Office investigator Christopher Murphy, adding they'd been camping in the national forest for about a week.
A passing motorist spotted Bresee walking down a road Wednesday and alerted authorities.
Bresee and her friend, who Murphy would not name, took a Greyhound from Florida to Georgia, then hitchhiked to Amicalola Falls State Park. The man told authorities Bresee had left their campground saying she was going to take a shower and never returned.
Tuesday, the area near where the couple placed their tent was searched with dogs. Today, a four-man crew from the Dawson County fire department rappelled down the falls to look for the woman's body.
Personnel from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the Dawson County Sheriff's Office and Dawson County emergency services assisted in the search.
Georgia state parks spokeswoman Kim Hatcher said Bresee and her friend were dropped off at the park, known for its 729-foot waterfall, but never actually camped in the park. She estimated they camped about a mile outside the state park in the national forest.
"It's very common," said Hatcher. "A lot of hunters do it."
The park is about 75 miles north of Atlanta near Dawsonville.
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