SAN MIGUEL COUNTY, Colo. — A woman has been found alive and uninjured after she was missing in the Colorado backcountry for four days, the San Miguel County Sheriff's Office said.
The sheriff's office said the 53-year-old woman was last seen around 11 a.m. Wednesday near the Lone Cone trailhead outside of Norwood. That afternoon, the sheriff's office said, 11 campers from an organized group "set off for solo journeys into the woods."
The sheriff's office said the woman, who is from Victoria, Canada, "was part of a group of campers who, by design, set off alone into the backcountry without their cellphones and then fasting 'to maximize their experience with nature.'" The group was participating in a program run by the Animas Valley Institute, which operates out of Durango, the sheriff's office said.
The sheriff's office said the campers used a buddy system designed to confirm that each camper had returned to their campsites. The “buddy” of the missing person arrived at the main camp on Thursday and found she had not checked in. That person reported this to one of the guides, who searched her campsite and determined the woman perhaps did not sleep there the night before, the sheriff's office said. Her daypack, which reportedly contained an emergency blanket, a whistle, a power bar and some water, was missing.
The guides conducted their own search for a few hours, and when they could not find her, they called the sheriff's office. Rescue crews, using aircraft and K9 teams, began a multiday search for the woman.
Sunday, rescue crews found the woman alive and uninjured in the targeted search area, the sheriff's office said.
In a social media post, Sheriff Bill Masters advised the public to never be alone when going into the backcountry.
“You should always bring technology for communications. Furthermore you should not starve yourself even if a 'guide' service suggests the opposite of these basic safety rules," Masters said.