Rose Caesar 'doing well' after 2 nights missing near Ross River, Yukon

A Ross River woman who spent two nights out in the cold is recovering and "doing well," her family said in a statement Monday.

Rose Caesar, 32, was reported missing on Friday. She was last seen driving an ATV on the Robert Campbell Highway, travelling towardWatson Lake.

Search and rescue volunteers from several communities spent the next couple of nights looking for Caesar, before finding her Sunday morning in the Mink Creek area, off the road and a kilometre away from her abandoned ATV.

It's not clear, however, exactly what led her there.

"I don't know any of that," said Cam Beemer, the president of Yukon Search and Rescue, who was there when Caesar was found. "Eventually, I think the ATV did run out of fuel.So at that point I guess she went out on foot and got turned around in the bush."

The weekend search was hampered by rough weather, with blowing snow reducing visibility and creating wet conditions for searchers.

Beemer saidCaesar was wearing a hoodie, but didn't have gloves or a hat. She had also lost her shoes somewhere along the way.

"She was smart enough to pull her leggings down and tie them in a knot," Beemer said."So she actually had her feet covered with her leggings.So, smart move but that's pretty cold on the feet."

"We just got her bundled up and into the chopper pretty quick."

Caesar's family declined an interview, but thankedall the volunteers who helped find her.

Beemer says searchers were "elated" when they found Caesar, alive and in surprisingly good shape.

"She was just really lucky, I think, and a hardy soul," he said.