Missing Deltona woman found alive in the woods was paranoid, hiding from search crews, deputies say

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Volusia County sheriff’s deputies said Tuesday that a woman who had been missing since Friday has been found -- and that she had been hiding from search parties.

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The Volusia County Sheriff’s office said detectives were out early Tuesday morning looking for Nikki Shriver in Tiger Bay State Forest.

When detectives turned on their sirens, Shriver came out from a wooded area about a mile south of the location where she was last seen, deputies said.

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According to Volusia County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Andrew Gant, Shriver told detectives she was running and hiding from the search parties because she was paranoid and feared someone else was looking for her.

According to Gant, Shriver also told detectives she has some survivalist background and has spent time in the woods in the past.

Shriver was taken to Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach for evaluation, but no major injuries were evident, deputies said.

Deputies said Nikki Shriver was last seen Friday around 5 a.m. when she called 911 to report she was having car trouble near the Tiger Bay Wildlife Management Area.

She sounded suicidal during the 911 call, investigators said.

Deputies said they tracked Shriver’s phone but lost her signal near Daytona Beach.

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