LOS ANGELES — When the Vermilion Valley Resort in California’s eastern Sierra shut down for the winter, the staff left cabin doors unlocked just in case a wayward hiker needed shelter during the frequent mountain snowstorms. That decision may have saved the life of Tiffany Slaton, the 27-year-old Georgia woman who was missing for nearly three weeks in remote wilderness.

Owner Christopher Gutierrez spotted a cabin door ajar and a pair of shoes nearby when he arrived Wednesday morning to begin reopening the resort for spring. Suddenly, a young woman appeared in the doorway.

“She pops out, didn’t say a word, just ran up and all she wanted was a hug,” Gutierrez said during a Wednesday evening news conference. “It was a pretty surreal moment, and that’s when I realized who this was.”

It was Slaton, whose parents had reported her missing April 29 after not hearing from her for more than a week. The Fresno County Sheriff’s office launched a search, and deputies and volunteers scoured more than 600 square miles of the Sierra National Forest, with no luck.

Searchers were hampered by heavy snow blocking many roads.

On Monday, the Sheriff’s Office had announced it was scaling back the search effort. Two days later, she emerged from the cabin.

Gutierrez gave Slaton a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and called authorities, who brought her to a hospital for evaluation. She was hungry and dehydrated, but otherwise in good condition, sheriff’s officials said.

‘She’s a fighter’

Sheriff’s spokesperson Tony Botti said it was the longest period of time he has seen someone be missing in the wilderness and survive.

“Three weeks, it’s unheard of,” he said. “It speaks to the tenacity that Tiffany has, that she’s a fighter.”

Thanks to tips from the public, investigators determined that Slaton had been spotted around April 20 near Huntington Lake, more than 20 miles to the southwest through rough terrain. But authorities didn’t provide details about when or where Slaton’s trek began, what her plans were and what route she took to end up at Vermilion Valley Resort.

Botti said that sheriff’s officials planned to interview Slaton to learn the details of her experience, and how she survived in icy conditions at elevations topping 6,500 feet.

Across the country in Jeffersonville, Georgia, her parents were out shopping when they got word that their daughter had been found.

“I just grabbed somebody and I said, ‘Can I hug you?’ And I did,” said her mother, Fredrina Slaton. “I was crying and hugging.”