Sandra Lyn Johnson Hughes loved the outdoors. She is what people would call a ‘survivalist’. Camping, hiking, and exploring were Sandra’s favorite hobbies.
It would stand to reason then, that Hawaii was a great place for Sandra to live.
But after the pandemic hit in 2020, Sandra decided to move to the mainland, so in June of 2020, California would become her home.
On June 26, she spoke to her family on the phone. Sandra was planning a solo camping trip and hiking, possibly up to Yosemite. She wanted to get away from the craziness of the world in its current state.
Sandra, at 53 years old, was experienced in the outdoors, so no one was particularly worried about her. Until July 5, when park officials found her campsite, which looked abandoned and in total disarray, definitely not like Sandra, who was exceptionally neat and organized.
There would be some odd sightings of her, bruised and barefoot, but telling hikers, who didn’t realize she was a missing person, that she didn’t need help.
A year later, a3-year-old boy had a spooky encounter in the area where Sandra disappeared from. An encounter that caught the attention of law enforcement.
Yet still, two years later, Sandra remains missing.
Where is Sandra Lyn Johnson Hughes?
SANDRA LYN JOHNSON HUGHES.
Sandra Johnson Hughes was born on July 26, 1966. She was always an avid lover of the outdoors, and in fact, would study to be a park ranger in college.
Sandra was married twice and divorced twice, but she had no children. This gave her the freedom to move around a lot and do all the things she enjoyed- exploring, sightseeing, camping, and hiking.
In 2020, she decided to move from her home in Maui, Hawaii to California, where she knew she could continue pursuing her love of hiking and camping.
On June 26, 2020, Sandra spoke to some family members and let them know she was planning on going hiking and camping in the Sierra National Forest, possibly hiking to Yosemite. The world was in the midst of crazy times, and Sandra thought it would be best for her to get away and into the outdoors, where she could be alone, and hopefully remain healthy, without the threats of the current pandemic.
THE DISAPPEARANCE.
On Sunday, July 5, 2020, park officials found an abandoned campsite, with what seemed like all the belongings left behind, However, they noted that the campsite was also in disarray, with things strewn about, bags emptied, and just an absolute mess. They found enough personal belongings to identify that the campsite was that of Sandra Johnson Hughes.
A search of the area found no sign of Sandra.
However, a short distance away, they found Sandra’s 2005 Silver Saab near Chiquito Creek. It appeared as if the car had possibly crashed into a tree, at a slow rate of speed, and then rolled down into a ravine. They could tell by the damage that the car had been moving at a slow speed, likely well under 20 mph.
The camp was found in an area known as Johnson Meadows, and the car was near Chiquito Creek. It’s hard to map since there aren’t roads connecting all these areas, but rather trails, however, the two locations are close to each other.
With such odd circumstances, authorities reached out to Sandra’s family. They told officers they hadn’t spoken to her since June 26. When law enforcement told her family the state of the campsite, they knew something was wrong. That wasn’t like Sandra at all.
The search for Sandra Johnson Hughes would begin.
THE SEARCH.
Several different agencies came out to search for Sandra, including the Madera County Sheriff's Department, California Highway Patrol, the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, and even the California Air National Guard.
Searches consisted of both law enforcement officers and volunteers, and they also brought in search dogs to assist. The Air National Guard came in to conduct some helicopter searches as well.
But nothing was found.
The family also put up posters in all nearby towns and businesses in that region, knowing that the area brings in so many hikers and campers, and it was the height of summer.
Maybe someone coming or going would recognize her.
And that’s just what would happen.
Two hikers came forward to say that they saw her on July 4th while they were hiking. She had a bruise on her face and she was barefoot, and the hikers asked her if she was ok and if she needed medical help. She had assured them that she was fine and they continued on their way. When they saw her missing person flyer, they instantly recognized her.
So this sighting was on July 4th, just a day before authorities found her disheveled campsite and abandoned car.
Authorities and family members are completely bewildered by this. Sandra was an experienced camper and was known to be a ‘survivalist’. Sandra had even trained to be a park ranger as a young adult. She knew what she was doing, and hadn’t exhibited strange behavior like this before.
What on earth had happened to cause this situation? Did she have an accident? Was there someone else involved?
On Sunday, August 9, 2020, another sighting of Sandra would come in. Two hunters saw a woman leaning against a tree along Road 5S01 near Beasore Road, in the area of Chiquito Creek near Portuguese Overlook. Almost exactly where Sandra had been just before her disappearance.
She did not appear distressed or say anything to them. She was just leaning against a tree, and the hunters thought she was just a hiker taking a break. Upon returning, they recognized her from a missing person flyer and contacted the authorities. They told them that she appeared to be visibly thinner than in her last known photos.
The searches would continue in the Sierra National Forest, with a concentration on the area of Johnson Meadows where her camp was, and the Chiquito Creek area, where her car was found.
The Sierra National Forest.
The area where this takes place proves to be a tricky area to search. The Sierra National Forest is breathtaking, and in some areas, unforgiving- and- covers over 1.3 million acres.
The Forest is known for its beautiful scenery, mountains, lakes, and flowing creeks. All of this brings out nature enthusiasts to hike, camp, and explore.
The area does struggle with some forest fires and sits in between two other national parks- the Sequoia National Forest to the south, and Yosemite National Park to the north. Not to mention Death Valley to the southeast as well.
Johnson Meadows, where Sandra was last seen, is kind of in the center of the forest.
It’s a popular place for bird watching and nature lovers to find all kinds of wildlife and plant species.
Wikipedia also points out these points of interest- from Wikipedia directly:
The forest includes a number of scenic attractions, including Fresno Dome and Nelder Grove. Several reservoirs offer fishing and boating, including Bass Lake, Shaver Lake, Wishon Reservoir, and Courtright Reservoir. There are numerous hiking opportunities in wilderness areas: Ansel Adams, John Muir, Dinkey Lakes, Kaiser, and Monarch. There is also a ski resort, China Peak, that operates under a special use permit. Great sailing opportunities exist at Huntington Lake.
With over 1.3 million acres of forest and mountains, it’s possible to understand how people could get lost. But, in the case of Sandra Johnson Hughes, something else was going on here. Her strange behavior, if the sightings of her were correct, and the circumstances of her messy and abandoned campsite, mean there might have been something else happening.
The Gorba Family
Just over a year after Sandra went missing, the Gorba family decided to take a family trip to the Madera County Mountains. While they were en route, they decided to make a stop in the forest for some lunch.
While there, they noticed their 3-year-old son, Kadyn, acting as if he was talking to someone, or looking for someone. But, they chalked it up to a curious toddler.
While leaving, Kadyn was notably staring out the window at something. Intently. So intently, they had to ask him what he was doing.
Victoria asked her son what he was looking at.
His answer gave her goosebumps, but again, children can have wild imaginations. However, there was something very different about his answer, the way he said it, and the specific details he spoke about.
Kadyn told his mom there was a woman in the meadow- Johnson Meadows- and she needed help.
This is what Kadyn told his mom:
Yeah there’s a lady over in the meadow in a black shirt. She needs our help but she’s dead and she’s laying face down with her legs up and she can’t talk to me but she’s over there, we need to go help her.’”
Victoria also went on to say that something about Kadyn’s tone spooked them enough that they got out of the car and walked around the meadow looking. They didn’t know what they were looking for exactly, but they looked anyway.
They didn’t find anything out of the ordinary, and they would continue on their trip. But the mood had changed, and they couldn’t shake the spookiness of that event, so they eventually packed up and went home earlier than planned.
Victoria went on Facebook and shared the story of Kadyn’s odd behavior that day with family and friends. Just as many parents do every day with their children.
But Victoria, who was unaware of Sandra Johnson Hughes, wasn’t ready for the phone she would get from Madera County Sheriff Deputy Chris Williams. Somehow, Victoria’s post came across his Facebook feed and stopped him in his tracks.
In her post, Victoria gave a very detailed description of the ‘woman’ that Kadyn said was out there and needed help. Deputy Williams recognized the description immediately. It was an exact match to his missing person case from the year prior- a case with little to no leads. The case of Sandra Johnson Hughes.
Victoria was shocked — but after learning more about Sandra’s mysterious disappearance, everything Kadyn had told her suddenly started to make sense and fit perfectly.
“He was very adamant that we needed to help her and he described her down to blue hair,” Victoria told WSET. “He said ‘She has a black shirt, blue jeans, and blue hair, Mom’ and that’s the exact description of her when she went missing.”
Kadyn had been able to describe her, right down to the detail of her dyed blue hair.
The following day, Kadyn and his dad rode back up the mountain with the county sheriff. Unfortunately, though, the search once again came up dry.
While the story of Kadyn and his vision is certainly odd, you can’t argue that it is a bit spooky as well.
Sadly, however, Sandra still wasn’t found.
So what could have happened to Sandra Johnson Hughes? Is she living a life out in the wild in the Sierra National Forest somewhere? Did she have an accident that caused her odd behavior and eventually succumbed to her injuries? Or, did she meet with foul play out in the wilderness and away from witnesses?
What do you think of the story that 3-year-old Kadyn told? Do you believe he had a vision of sorts? Or, is the story too unbelievable for you?
Sandra Lyn Johnson Hughes is described as a caucasian woman, standing about 5’3” tall and weighing around 150 pounds at the time of her disappearance. If the sighting of her, by the hunters, was accurate in August of 2020, Sandra may have lost significant weight.
In 2020, Sandra had shoulder-length hair, dyed blue. Her natural hair color is brown. She sometimes went by the nickname ‘Sandy’.
When she was last seen, in June of 2020, Sandra was 54 years old.
If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Sandra Johnsen Hughes please contact the Madera County Sheriff’s Office at (559) 675–7770.
