INQUISITR.COM / News & Politics

Lisa Theris: Student Found Naked But Alive After Going Missing In Alabama Wilderness For A Month

By Tara Dodrill
Published on: 04:58 PST, Aug 15, 2017

Lisa Theris went missing in the deep woods of Alabama for a month and was found alive over the weekend. The 25-year-old college student survived by eating only wild mushrooms and berries pulled from thorny branches in the dense forests around the town of Midland in Bullock County.

Theris was lost in the thousands of acres that comprise the Alabama backwoods without so much as a pair of shoes or any type of weapon. She lost 50 pounds and was covered in abrasions and bug bites when she was finally discovered.

Judy Garner was driving along Alabama Highway 82 just happened to spot something moving in the bushes, according to comments made by Sheriff Raymond Rodgers to local WFSA reporters. Garner thought a deer was about to leap onto the road at first.

“I started shaking. I was crying, I was scared, and I didn’t know what to do. So I went over to her and asked her if she would stay there while I get water out of my van. She stayed, and I called 911 and told them I had found a girl on the road. I gave her a hug and said, ‘You poor thing. You’ve been through a lot.'”

Garner said Lisa Theris was both weak and lethargic and probably could not have survived in the Alabama woods much longer. Theris reportedly begged the woman who found her not to leave her side.

Lisa Theris was weak and naked, but alive, alive around 2 p.m. on Saturday, NBC reports.

Since Lisa Theris was reported missing on July 23, law enforcement officers had been searching for her in a multi-county area in Alabama. Police investigators believed the college student was with two men who broke into a hunting lodge in the town of Midway before she disappeared.

After her rescue, Theris told Alabama police officers she had no idea the two men were plotting a robbery and wanted no part of it.

The two hunting lodge robbery suspects, Randall Oswald and Manley Davis, were arrested, charged with theft, and considered persons of interest in the disappearance of the radiology student.

Manley Davis and Randall Oswald allegedly stole $40,000 worth of personal property from a hunting lodge in Bullock County, including multiple ATVs and chainsaws, the Daily Mail reports.

Sheriff Rodgers said because Lisa Theris is not familiar with the wilderness region of Alabama, she likely got lost in the woods after running away from Davis and Oswald and got lost when it turned dark. While lost for one month in the backwoods, Theris said she drank from puddles and creeks to survive.

Theris said she remained very hungry but tried to keep moving and find her way out of the woods, but found she was often hiking in circles. Sheriff Rodgers said they did not ask the young woman very many questions after her rescue, but focused instead on getting her the medical treatment she needed.

Lisa Theris was taken to an Alabama hospital to recover from her ordeal and will be questioned about her disappearance and the break-in at the hunting lodge in the days to come. Police officials said the college student is alive and well, and that is the most important thing right now.

On Monday, Theris was transported back to her home in Louisville, where she began to recover amid her loved ones. Her sister, Elizabeth Theris, told the media that Lisa remains extremely weak and is emaciated. The sister added that not a single inch of Lisa’s body went unaffected by the month spend in the wilderness.

[Featured Image by VarnaK/Shutterstock]

Share this article: Lisa Theris: Student Found Naked But Alive After Going Missing In Alabama Wilderness For A Month
Alabama
More from Inquisitr