A 16-year-old Great Onyx Job Corps student was reported missing just before 7 p.m. on April 23rd. Ranger learned that she'd hiked into the forest around the center with nine other students earlier that afternoon. The students split into two groups, and each thought that the girl was with the other group. When they returned to the center, they found she was missing and notified the park. Rangers interviewed the students that evening, but a search was not begun that night due to darkness and the rugged terrain. On Monday morning, center staff, students, rangers and members of two Great Onyx fire crews searched ridge tops and river bottomland surrounding the center, retracing the girl's steps. A ranger also patrolled the Nolin River by boat both up and downstream from the center. SAR teams and search dogs were brought in that afternoon, and two Air National Guard helicopters joined in the effort. The search was suspended for the night and resumed at 6 a.m. on Tuesday. The girl was found at 10:40 a.m. that morning at a spot about a quarter mile from the point where she'd last been seen. Searchers were walking and calling for her when they heard her answer from a point off trail. She was able to walk to a nearby access road, where rangers picked her up and took her to a waiting county ambulance. She was taken to T.J. Samson Hospital for assessment. A total of about 50 people were involved in the search at its peak. The center released this statement on Tuesday: "We are pleased to announce that a student at Great Onyx Job Corps Center, reported missing on Sunday evening, has been found alive and well within the park as of this morning. This wonderful news is the result of a dedicated and exhaustive search effort by the Mammoth Cave National Park staff and the staff of the Great Onyx Job Corps Center. We are happy to report that the student is resting after having received precautionary treatment at a local hospital. Thanks to everyone who lent a hand during the search and to the many more who kept the student and the Great Onyx Job Corps family in their thoughts over the past two days."
