WEST GLACIER (AP) – A 48-year-old Columbia Falls woman who became separated from her hiking partner in Glacier National Park was found Friday.
Rhonda Stevens was rescued by helicopter on a saddle in an area between Mount St. Nicholas and Striped Elk Lake. She was not seriously injured, and declined medical treatment on scene, park spokeswoman Melissa Wilson said.
Stevens and a male companion entered the park at the Walton Ranger Station on Wednesday. While hiking off-trail through tall bush, the pair became separated, Wilson said.
The incident was reported Friday morning, after the man told authorities he last saw Stevens at about 3 p.m. Thursday near the Rotunda Cirque and had searched several hours unsuccessfully for her that night, she said.
An air and ground search included park authorities, the U.S. Forest Service, Flathead Search and Rescue, U.S. Border Patrol from Whitefish and Customs and Border Protection Air Operations from Great Falls.