Girl, 10, survives 24 hours ALONE in Cascade mountains after getting lost with family

A ten-year-old girl managed to survive in a harsh mountainous landscape for over 24 hours alone on her own.

Shunghla Mashwani survived in the rugged Cascade mountains and her ordeal involved spending a night nestled between some trees in a forest in the darkness.

Shungla became separated from her family, a party of around 20, during a gathering in the Cle Elum River Valley, CNN reported.

According to the Kittitas County Sheriff's Office, Shunghla and her family were crossing a pedestrian bridge near the Cathedral Pass Trailhead when she suddenly found herself alone and unable to locate the bridge again.

Facing the daunting challenge of navigating the unfamiliar wilderness, the brave girl found herself stranded and alone as her family searched desperately for her.

But with no cell service in the area, they couldn't call for help.

Finally, after a tense search spanning several hours, two dedicated ground search volunteers caught sight of Shunghla (Kittitas County Sheriff Office)

"The search area was steep, rugged, and remote, with dense trees and undergrowth cut through by the fast-running Cle Elum River," the sheriff's office said.

After searching for about two hours, a passerby offered to call the police using a satellite phone from a nearby cabin.

Deputies, volunteer search teams, and other law enforcement agencies quickly joined the search efforts.

During the search, the sheriff's office had Shunghla's father record a message of reassurance in their native language, which was broadcasted over the search area.

Young Shunghla Mashwani, who arrived in the US from Afghanistan two years ago, emerged as a true survivor (Kittitas County Sheriff Office)

"I was trying to go to sleep in the night and then wake up early in the morning, and then I'll find my dad and mom in the forest," Shunghla told KING, describing her experience spending the night alone in the wilderness.

Finally, on Monday around 3 p.m., two ground search volunteers spotted Shunghla about 1.5 miles south of where she was last seen. Despite enduring the challenging conditions, she had only sustained minor scrapes.

"She hiked downstream through the dense forest and spent the cold night between some trees. She said she knew it was the right thing to follow the river. She proved an extraordinarily resourceful and resilient 10-year-old," the sheriff's office said.

Rescuers swiftly loaded Shunghla into an inflatable rescue boat and successfully brought her across the river to be reunited with her father, marking the end of a harrowing ordeal.