The Edge of the World is the name of the dangerous region close to Sedona, Arizona, where Janelle Banda and her father were camping as part of a father-daughter excursion.
Banda almost died after a misstep that left her hundreds of feet away and out of reach for days while she was out for a walk in the area, which is covered in dense forest and carved with steep cliffs.
About 400 feet into a narrow canyon close to the southern end of Woody Mountain Road, she was stranded for two and a half days. Before being rescued by a Pima County sheriff’s helicopter at noon on June 16, she had to endure intense heat during the day, freezing temperatures at night, and darkness at night.
When 29-year-old Sarah Banda heard that her 32-year-old sister had been saved, she was overcome with nervous energy.
“This has been nothing short of a miracle,” Sarah Banda stated. The positive outcome inspired “an overwhelming amount of relief, joy” in her and the sisters’ parents. She said that by the third day, her sister was missing, the Phoenix-area family was “very much mentally preparing for the worst.”
A skilled hiker was startled during a brief stroll, according to her sister.
Before the long period of uncertainty that followed the news of Janelle Banda’s rescue, there was hope because searchers had discovered she was still alive.
According to Sarah Banda, the sisters “always had a love for the outdoors” and had hiked on trails in Sedona as well as throughout the Phoenix area, including Camelback Mountain. However, Janelle Banda had never been to Edge of the World before. Sarah Banda stated that she and her father had been in the region since approximately June 11.
On the evening of June 13, Janelle Banda, an Etsy store owner and dual-degree graduate from Arizona State University, seems to have been “spooked by something” after becoming lost in the darkened woods and walking a short distance from her campsite, according to her sister.
“If you walk the wrong way, down the wrong path, you could just end up walking and stepping where you shouldn’t at the edge of the cliff,” Sarah Banda stated about the Edge of the World.
Soon after their father and a neighboring camper started searching for her, they contacted the police. The Arizona Department of Public Safety and the sheriff’s offices in Coconino, Maricopa, and Yavapai counties were called in for the search.
The volunteers “tirelessly” put in hundreds of hours to find her sister, and Sarah Banda said the family was “immensely thankful” for those efforts.
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According to her sister, Janelle Banda was able to avoid head injuries, spinal injuries, and broken bones. She did, however, sustain cuts, bruises, and road burn-like skin scraping in addition to two sprained ankles. Sarah Banda added that she was severely dehydrated.
Sarah Banda remarked, “She can’t really move.” “She’s in a lot of pain.” After spending the night in the hospital, Sarah Banda reported that her sister was discharged on June 17.
While in their parents’ care, Janelle Banda’s physical recuperation entails a lot of rest and little mobility, she said.
According to Sarah Banda, there will be additional healing.
“There’s obviously the mental toll of … the trauma of not just falling but being in the canyon alone,” she continued. “That’s a different battle that she’ll have to deal with.”
