MONTREAT, N.C. -- A 47-year-old woman who was missing in the woods for more than a week told police that she survived by eating leaves and drinking creek water.

Susan Taylor, who is a first-grade teacher, was found Sunday afternoon on Graybeard Trail near Montreat.

A friend of Taylor's said that she had gotten lost in the woods the week before. Police said Taylor had taken a taxi to the Black Mountain area early in the morning of Aug. 9. She was reported missing the next day.

Montreat police told WYFF News 4 that Taylor was "OK, but disoriented."

Taylor slept outside a nearby home while the owners were away.

Montreat Police Chief William McClintock said, "She didn't break in. She slept on the porch."

On Friday, a hiker reported seeing Taylor's belongings laid out on a flat stone in a creek.

Taylor is a member of a hiking group that assisted in the search for her.

She was found by search-and-rescue dogs that happened to be training in the area.

"She had lost 20 pound and was in weakened condition when we got her," McClintock said.

When police found her, Taylor asked them why they had been looking for her.

Police said she had walked in circles in the area, repeatedly walking past the road where she could have gone to get help.

Taylor was released from the hospital and is with family.

Police attributed her actions to being disoriented, but they would not speculate on why she ended up in the woods in the first place.