 Currently, she lives and works in California, teaches at California College of the Arts, and works with environmental art, as well as continuing in set design.Elder is known for being the sole survivor in the crash of a light airplane in the Sierra Nevada in the 1970s.On April 26, 1976, Lauren decided to take up an offer to be the third passenger in a Cessna 182P, tail number N52855, on a trip from Oakland International Airport in Oakland, California to Furnace Creek Airport in Death Valley's Furnace Creek.