What started out as a leisurely drive turned into a nightmare for a 48-year-old woman who spent about three nights and four days wandering lost in the forest after her car got stuck on a logging road in West Jefferson County.

Two men Tuesday afternoon found Denise Foss of Amanda Park on land owned by the state Department of Natural Resources, scooting herself along down the middle of the road with a stick.

She was taken to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office West End Annex, where Deputy Dave Thomas is stationed.

Thomas said Foss arrived at the annex shivering, hungry and thirsty from her ordeal, but otherwise uninjured.

Foss was immediately covered with a blanket, given food and water and seated in front of a heater, Thomas said.

“Once she started getting warm, she started coming around,” Thomas said.

“It could have been tragic, but it turned out good.”

In stable condition

Foss was in stable condition at Grays Harbor Community Hospital in Aberdeen, a nurse said Wednesday.

She had a pre-existing medical condition that may have made it difficult for her to walk, Thomas said.

Foss’ family and friends had been searching for her, according to a statement from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, but authorities had not been contacted.