Two children found unharmed after 44 hours lost in woods

Two young sisters who were lost in woods for almost two days after wandering off on their own stayed alive by eating cereal bars and using survival training tips they learned at their local youth club, police say.

Leia Carrico, eight, and her five year-old sister Caroline were found huddled under a bush but unharmed on Sunday morning, around 1.4 miles from their home in Benbow, California, reports the London Evening Standard.

Police tracked them down by following their boot prints and a trail of discarded cereal bar wrappers during a massive search that involved around 170 officers from 21 law enforcement and military agencies, as well as helicopters, sniffer dogs and volunteers.

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The girls had gone missing at 2.30pm on Friday afternoon. They told investigators they got lost while following a deer trail in the vast woodland surrounding their home, northwest of Sacramento, and then decided to stay where they were, the Los Angeles Times reports.

They were able to drink fresh water from huckleberry leaves.

Following their rescue, Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal said: “This is an absolute miracle.

“This is rugged territory, this is an extreme environment. How they were out there for 44 hours is pretty amazing.”

“They were dehydrated and they were cold, but they were well. That was our first concern,” he added.