Grandma Survives on Biscuits for Seven Days in French Alps

When Michèle Riotton fell into a deep ravine during a walk near her home in France, she found herself trapped, with no water, little food and no way of contacting her family or friends. But somehow, the 78-year-old Alzheimer's sufferer used her inner strength and survived to tell the tale.

It was on a bright sunny day last weekend that the grandmother set off on a short walk near her home in the French Alps, reports Britain's Daily Mail. Dressed in a light fleece jacket and trousers she had only planned to be out for a short time. But that all changed when she lost her footing and fell down a slope, where she ended up at the bottom of a cold, dark ravine.

Despite the constant rain and cold temperatures and the fact she had only two biscuits to survive on, Riotton said she had no fear. "'I wasn't afraid,' she said adding: "My main thought was for the worry I would be causing my children and grandchildren." Covering herself in leaves for warmth and drinking the rainwater on her face, she simply nibbled on her biscuits and tried to keep positive. On the seventh day, she was rescued by a search team, organized by her worried neighbors.

When asked by the French newspaper, Le Parisian, how she survived the cold for so long, she replied: "You know, we mountain people have solid nerves and bodies!" But she has no intention of repeating the ordeal and plans to stay well away from the woods near her home in the future.  "Enough is enough!' she said. 'No more forests — I don't want to visit one again," she said adamantly, back at home with her family.

Photo by delaere via Flickr.