The cat that survived a nearly 400-foot fall in Bryce Canyon National Park last month, killing her owners, has found a new home with the helicopter pilot who rescued her.
Mirage was inside a carrier being used by Matthew Nannen and Bailee Crane when the couple fell to their deaths from Inspiration Point on April 29.
Chelsea Tugaw, the Utah Department of Public Safety pilot who was part of the team dispatched to the park, said her crew didn't know the carrier even contained a cat when they were hovering over the scene.
"It's actually really amazing that we actually went and recovered Mirage because initially, thinking that [the carrier] was a backpack, we normally don't do extra hoist just to recover personal items from people."
Cat survives fall that killed 2 in Bryce Canyon National Park:
She said they only recovered the item because deputies asked the helicopter crew to grab the backpack to assist in their investigation of the fall.
"We sent [a crew member] down there and he basically got hoisted right down, like on top of the carrier pretty much, and landed and picked it up and said it's a cat!" she said.
It wasn't until she piloted the helicopter back to base and landed did Tugaw get a look at what she had rescued.
"I felt really bad for her," Tugaw said. "I was amazed that she was still alive, to be honest."
Couple killed in fall at Bryce Canyon National Park:
Matted and sore, Mirage was immediately brought to Best Friends Animal Society in Kanab where she was treated for the miraculously few injuries she had suffered in the fall, which included a couple of broken teeth and cracked ribs.
"After Mirage was in our care for about a week, we noticed that her appetite was starting to fall off, and she seemed to be having some trouble breathing," explained Best Friends Chief Sanctuary Officer Judah Battista.
X-rays showed the cat's chest was filling with fluid, likely caused by the trauma she had suffered. She was brought to Las Vegas where her lung was reinflated and returned to good health.
The next step was finding Mirage a new home. Thankfully, Tugaw was already feeling attached to the older cat that she had just helped rescue.
"I was just so excited that she was still alive after that fall, and I just kind of felt there was a special connection there, with us rescuing her and I wanted to give her a good retirement home," explained Tugaw. "I just wanted to make sure that she was comfortable for, you know, the remainder of her years."
Tugaw shared that Mirage is doing well and settling in, hopefully appreciating that she is the beneficiary of two miracles: Surviving a tragic fall and finding a new, loving place to call home.
"I think the most surprising thing is just how outgoing she is," Tugaw said of Mirage, "just wanting to be a pet all the time and purring, and she's just the nicest kitty."
