A Georgia woman who went missing for weeks while hiking in California's Sierra Nevada mountains has been found alive inside a cabin that was inaccessible to vehicles due to the snowpack.

The Fresno County Sheriff's Office said the family of Tiffany Slaton, a 27-year-old woman from Jeffersonville, Georgia, reported on April 29 that they had not been in contact with her for the past nine days. 

During the investigation, authorities said they were able to confirm that she was seen on April 20 at Huntington Lake, located in California's Sierra Nevada, about 65 miles east of Fresno. 

Four days later, she was seen at the old Cressman's General Store, about 20 miles west of the lake. After that, deputies were unable to track down her location. 

In early May, a full-scale search operation was underway in the mountainous area. Deputies said they searched nearly 600 square miles, covering an area from Mono Hot Spring to Wishon Reservoir, and Pine Flat Lake to Auberry. 

But the snowpack prevented the search operation from making it over Kaiser Pass. Deputies said they flew their helicopter in the area but could not find any trace of Slaton.

On Wednesday, snow plows cleared Kaiser Pass, allowing the owner of Vermilion Valley Resort, Christopher Gutierrez, to access his property so that he could prepare for the summer season. 

As he was doing so, Gutierrez, who was aware of the ongoing search, found Slaton in a rental cabin.

"We see the door open and I see some shoes down there and I'm like, 'OK, well it's just a hiker who decided to hold up in the blizzard we had that previous night,'" Gutierrez said in a media briefing Wednesday afternoon. "As soon as we start making our way there, here comes Tiffany, she pops out, deer in the headlights. So she pops out, didn't say a word, just ran up and all she wanted was a hug." 

Gutierrez drove Slaton to the pass where deputies and medics met them. They said she was dehydrated but in good health. She was taken to the hospital for further treatment. 

Slaton's parents, who were set to travel to the area in the coming days, were notified that their daughter was located. 

"To get a phone call that Tiffany is doing fine, it's hard to contain your tears and your excitement in the middle of clothes shopping," her father said, recalling the moment he found out his daughter had been found. 

"I just grabbed somebody and said, 'Can I hug you?' And I did. I was crying and hugging," Slaton's mother said. "She was just somebody that was close and I needed to hug somebody." 

The Fresno County Sheriff's Office said it has seen a couple of cases in the past of people surviving tough conditions in the Sierra Nevada, but never to this extent. 

"Two days, nine days. That's amazing," Fresno County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Tony Botti said. "But three weeks, it's unheard of."

Gutierrez said he leaves a cabin unlocked for situations like this, allowing for an increased chance of survival.   

He called Slaton's arrival at the cabin "miraculous" and said she took a trail that's not well-traveled.