Survivor Tanner ends run in second place

Marshall native Twila Tanner held on to the end, taking second place in the ninth season of television's "Survivor." (Photo courtesy CBS) [Click to enlarge]

When Marshall native Twila Tanner hit the CBS television series "Survivor: Vanuatu -- Islands of Fire," few would have predicted her to last to the final episode, much less to take second place. But despite the odds, the rugged hard worker pulled through, earning a spot in the national lime-light as season nine runner-up-survivor.

"I'm tough. I'm rugged. I don't take any crap," Tanner said in her audition tape, saying she wasn't the traditional woman with her patented, gruff honesty. If working three jobs to make ends meet wasn't proof enough of that, the nail-tough player's determination and grit that pulled her through to the final elimination should have been.

The ultimate battle came down to two Department of Transportation workers, Tanner, who works for the Missouri Department of Transportation, and Chris Daugherty, a 33-year-old Ohio Department of Transportation employee.

In the end, Tanner's big lie, betraying an alliance to Ami Cusack and Leann Slaby and swearing on her son, came back to haunt her at the final vote on Sunday. At the same time, that vote may have been what brought her as far as she went.

Tanner was eliminated five to two by those who fell before her, leaving Daugherty with the $1 million prize and a new car.

A CBSrepresentative said Monday that Tanner was unhappy with previous coverage by the Democrat-News and declined to be interviewed for this article.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Contact Matt Heger at

marshallfaith@socket.net