The story of how the 89-year-old woman lost in the woods managed to survive: for four days she drank rainwater and took shelter among the trees
Josephine Bardelli89 years old, lived an experience that she will hardly forget. For four nights, the grandmother from Malnate challenged the harshness of the mountains of Alto Varesotto. She slept among tall ferns and centuries-old beech trees, after getting lost in the woods of Forcora, above Lake Maggiore, on the border with Switzerland. An event that kept an entire community in suspense and that fortunately ended with a happy ending.
On Wednesday 21st August, Giuseppina had ventured, as she had done many other times, into the Forcora woods together with her son to look for mushrooms. An expert on the local trails, thanks to her years of experience in the Italian Alpine Club (CAI), Bardelli never expected to find herself in such a dangerous situation. The two separated to follow different trails with the intention of meeting at the parking lot. However, Giuseppina never arrived. Slipping down a ravine, she found herself in an impervious area, difficult to reach and even more difficult to spot from above.
Hours turned into days, and Giuseppina’s son, worried about her absence, raised the alarm that same evening. From that moment, a vast rescue operation was launched. Numerous teams of firefighters and Civil Protection volunteers searched every inch of the municipal territory of Maccagno con Pino and Veddasca, in an attempt to find her.
Meanwhile, Giuseppina did not lose heart. Having survived a storm, she found a way to collect rainwater and, aware of the need to ration it, she drank only the minimum amount necessary to survive. During the nights, she created a rudimentary shelter: a bed of ferns under a beech tree, where she lay on her stomach to protect herself from the dangers of the mountain.
On the morning of Sunday, August 25, after four days and four nights of complete solitude, his odyssey finally came to an end. A rescue team heard his cries near the crest of Mount Sirti, about 1,200 meters above sea level. Giuseppina was dehydrated and in shock, but overall in good condition. Transported by helicopter to the hospital in Varese, the doctors found that, apart from a few broken ribs and a big scare, she had done surprisingly well. Her son specifies:
“Mom didn’t take any survival courses, it was all about experience.”
Giuseppina Bardelli’s story is an extraordinary testimony of strength and resilience. An example of how knowledge of the territory and a deep connection with nature can make the difference between life and death.
Read also: She had gone out looking for mushrooms with her son, then she disappeared: after 4 days the long-awaited results of the searches arrive
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