A female hiker who went missing on Sunday, June 9, at the Triangle Peak Trail in Colorado, was found alive after two days of extensive search efforts. The hiker, identified as Jennifer Hearn, was found on Tuesday afternoon, June 11, after her dog was found earlier that morning. Triangle Peak Trails is a steep trail that sees limited foot traffic due to its difficult and rocky terrain.
Hearn and her dog did not return from a hike on Triangle Peak Trail in the Snowmass Canyon area of the Roaring Fork Valley, Colorado. The 74-year-old Colorado resident had set out with her Irish Setter “Tawny” on Sunday morning but failed to return and was reported missing by her family on Sunday evening at 8:39 p.m. Mountain Rescue Aspen (MRA) volunteer members set out that evening around 8:57 p.m. to search for Hearn and her dog but had to call off the search at 2:40 a.m. due to lack of light.
On Monday, June 10, search efforts continued at 8:17 a.m. with 30 MRA members, one helicopter from Flight for Life, one fixed-wing Multi-Mission Aircraft from the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control, and one dog and handler team from Search and Rescue Dogs of the United States (SARDUS). Unfortunately, Monday’s search was also unsuccessful.
On Tuesday, June 11, the search resumed at 8:00 a.m., with 30 MRA members, one helicopter from Care Flight of the Rockies, and numerous concerned citizens. According to the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office, Tawny was found at 9:30 a.m. at a residence near Triangle Peak. This narrowed down the search area to the steep rock-covered hillsides overlooking the Woody Creek area. During the focused search of the scree fields that cover the side of Triangle Peak, Jennifer was found at approximately 3:15 p.m. She was carried out of the area on a stretcher and is currently receiving medical care.
