Family reunited after girl goes missing during camping trip

MARIN COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) -- Nine-year-old girl Ida Rothschild was found alive and safe at Samuel P. Taylor State Park in Marin County on Saturday morning. Ida was camping in Samuel P. Taylor State Park in Marin County with her family when she wandered off Friday afternoon.

Robby Rothschild can't say enough about the full scale search to find his daughter.

"The infrastructure which blossomed into this effort which brought our daughter home to us, I'm extremely grateful," he said.

Rothschild says he and his wife turned their back for a moment and Ida wandered away and became lost in the woods. Hundreds of searchers from across Northern California responded and spent the night searching for the little girl.

Two cyclists found Ida Saturday morning, about 21 hours after she was last seen. One of the cyclists heard the girl "crying for her mom" at about 8:58 a.m. on a slope off of a trail in the northern end of the park, according to Marin County sheriff's Lt. Doug Pittman.

The women called 911 on a cellphone, gave the girl some water and waited with her for about 30 minutes before Marin county fire personnel reached them, Pittman said.

"She was in good spirits," Pittman said. "She said she was hungry."

When Ida was reunited with her family, she reportedly reassured them by saying, "Mom, I'm fine!"

Amazingly, Ida wasn't hurt and told police she kept walking to keep warm.

Ida's father said finding her safe was the "best Father's Day gift ever."

"I'm extremely grateful this Father's Day that I continue to have my wonderful Ida," Rothschild said.

The girl's family was staying at Samuel P. Taylor State Park just west of Woodacre where the search began Friday afternoon. They are visiting California from Santa Fe Mexico.

More than 200 people helped to search for Ida beginning Friday and into Saturday morning.

Bay City News contributed to this report.