In the early hours of June 10, 1994, Deborah Hoyt suddenly awoke in her relative's home in Sacramento, California, with an overwhelming impulse to return to Lake Tahoe. Despite her husband’s confusion and their plans to stay for another couple of days, she insisted they leave immediately. They quietly packed their belongings and departed, leaving a note behind.

As they drove along Highway 50, Deborah's husband kept the vehicle moving while she sang to stay alert. Upon reaching a stretch known locally as Bullion Bend, Deborah was horrified to spot a naked woman lying on the road. Although her husband did not see the figure, he believed her panic was warranted, and they decided against stopping, fearing a possible trap. Instead, they searched for a phone booth to call the police.

Upon the police’s arrival, Deborah and her husband returned to the site of the sighting, but the officers found no trace of a body. Despite their thorough search, Deborah remained convinced of what she had seen. After returning home, she was visibly shaken and distressed.

While discussing the incident back at the station, Officer Rich Strasser recalled a missing persons case involving 24-year-old Christine Skubish and her three-year-old son, Nicky, who had vanished on June 6, 1994. He recognized that Christine had been traveling through Highway 50, exactly where Deborah had her unsettling experience.

The following day, the police revisited the area. In daylight, they discovered a child's shoe and soon located a wrecked red sedan down a 40-foot embankment. Inside were Christine and Nicky. Tragically, Christine was deceased in the driver’s seat, likely having fallen asleep at the wheel, while Nicky was barely clinging to life. Medical professionals later determined that Christine had died upon impact, but Nicky was miraculously saved, having only hours left to live when found.

Nicky later recounted emerging from the car and trying to reach the highway, but ultimately chose to crawl back into the vehicle, finding comfort in his mother's presence despite the dire circumstances.

The perplexing questions linger: if Christine died instantly, who did Deborah see? Does this tale possess a supernatural element?

Several details merit consideration: 1. Without Deborah's urgent desire to leave her relatives' home, Nicky may not have survived. 2. On the day Christine disappeared, her aunt dreamt of a crash involving her niece and reported feeling as if she were in the car during the incident. 3. At least three other travelers corroborated Deborah's account of seeing a naked woman on the highway, matching her description. 4. Nicky later expressed that he felt guardian angels were watching over him while trapped in the wreck.

Did Christine somehow rise to protect her son? Was she observing Nicky during those harrowing days? How did he endure five days in a wrecked vehicle?

While we cannot definitively interpret Nicky's visions or his aunt's dreams, Deborah's sighting remains a mystery. Some might argue that Nicky was the child Deborah glimpsed, yet it’s challenging to mistake a three-year-old for an adult woman.

Regardless of beliefs about the supernatural, this incident carries an undeniable strangeness. Whether it was Christine’s spirit guiding Deborah or a mere coincidence, we can be grateful that Nicky was rescued in time.

Rest in peace, Christine.