A B.C. woman who went missing en route to Las Vegas in March has been found alive on a remote logging road in Nevada, where police say she survived on water alone for seven weeks.

Penticton residents Rita and Al Chretien were last seen at a gas station in Baker City, Oregon on March 19 as they made their way to a trade show in Las Vegas. That was the last time their credit card was used.

A group of hunters on ATVs in Elko Country, Nevada, found Rita alive on Friday around 4 p.m., RCMP Cpl. Dan Moskaluk told ctvbc.ca. She was with the couple's van on a forest service road at the time, and was able to speak coherently and identify herself.

Al's sister Lorraine Hoving said she was blown away when she heard the news.

"I'm still trying to process it because it's just unbelievable that anybody could survive for seven-and-a-half weeks. Words can't even describe what I'm feeling now," Hoving said.

"Rita is just a wonderful, nurturing mother.... To hear this news just before Mother's Day is a miracle."

Moskaluk says that the couple got stuck on the road the same day they went missing; Elko County is about a six-hour drive from Baker City.

After three days stranded there, Al left Rita to search for help on foot. He is still missing.

Hoving says she's holding out hope that Al is still alive, but the priority now is taking care of Rita.

"We can just keep praying for Albert, but let's get Rita back home again and get her healthy," she said.

Moskaluk says that Rita is in good condition but has been airlifted to hospital. She was well enough to speak to her son by telephone Friday evening, and family members are now on their way to Nevada to see her.

While the odds of finding Al alive are growing slimmer by the minute, Moskaluk says he's not ruling out a second miracle.

"At least now we have an area to search," he said.

Friends and family searched desperately for the Chretiens after they went missing, but to no avail.

A ground and air search in Oregon last month failed to turn up any signs of the couple, and their cell phone and bank accounts haven't been accessed since they left home.

A tip line set up by police to track down the Chretiens was shut down on April 21 after leads dried up.