The True Story Of The 8-Year-Old Who Spent Nearly A Week Lost In The Woods

While on vacation with her family at Devil's Den State Park in West Fork, Arkansas, Katherine Van Alst wandered away from her brothers while they were playing near a creek. It seemed to happen in the blink of an eye, as if a hole in the center of the earth formed and swallowed her into its gullet. Despite the helpless cries of her family who were desperately trying to ascertain her whereabouts, she failed to respond and had vanished entirely. Park officials were contacted and a vigorous hunt for the missing little girl commenced. The entirety of Devil's Den State Park covers a vast expanse of 2,500 acres, so the search soon became virtually aimless. How a mere child of 8 could wander off into nothingness while in the immediate company of her own family became a puzzling mystery that nobody could solve (per Journal Online).

At the time of her disappearance, Katherine Van Alst was clad in nothing more than a bathing suit, so she was dangerously exposed to the elements and was at high risk of being harmed in various ways. Devil's Den State Park is occupied by a dense population of wildlife, harbors various rocks and cliffs, and is complete with all the makings of nature in its unabashed form, according to All Trails, so the hope of her safe recovery was rapidly waning as the days went on. Then, as quickly as she was gone, she was there again (per Online Journal).

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