Anyone familiar with the area Stacy vanished in knows that this is a classic case of someone lost in the wilderness who succumbs to the elements. This is very rough terrain, a day's walk from any road. There are trails that backpackers use but very few people would venture off trail.
Stacy had just arrived at Sunrise High Sierra Camp which is a cluster of "tent cabins" that are on a fairly flat open area up hill from several lakes less than a mile away. Walking from the camp to the lake would appear fairly easy and it would seem like both the lakes and the camp would be visible along the route. It isn't that simple however.
The area 8000' in elevation. The land is mostly bare granite that is very irregular . There some areas of scattered trees and some areas where the trees are thick enough to call forested. The land slopes steadily to the north and east but is a mishmash of ridges and gullies. It is impossible to walk in a straight line because you will keep encountering steep rock but granite affords good footing and there is usually a way to keep going if you poke around for a route and keep changing directions.
The danger with this kind of walking is that it is very easy to become disoriented and to believe your destination is a completely different direction than it really is. If Stacy lost sight of the camp or the lake, she might assume she knew the correct direction and continue on.
Once you realize that you should have arrive at your destination by now, but you haven't, you are lost. The decision to "keep going" can easily take you further away from where anyone might search for you. Continuing to walk after dark greatly increases the chance of injury.
People lost in the wilderness who are weakened by injury, hunger and cold, will often seek shelter in crevices or under fallen branches. This "shelter" often conceals extremely weakened lost hikers from searchers and ultimately results in bodies never being found.
This is hardly the first time a camper has wandered away from a campsite and gotten lost.
