A group of hikers have located the body of Tatum Morell, a 23-year-old hiker who went missing in early July, in the Beartooth Mountains northeast of Yellowstone. According to Red Lodge Fire Rescue, Morell was discovered by climbers on Saturday, well below the Whitetail couloir. Two Bear Air and the Yellowstone County Sheriff helicopter worked together with Red Lodge Fire Rescue and the Carbon County Sheriff’s office to recover her body from the rugged mountains.
Rescuers believe that Morell was climbing Whitetail Peak when she was caught in a significant rock slide and suffered fatal injuries. The area where she was located had been searched numerous times by rescue crews, but due to the fact that Morell was mostly buried under rocks, she was extremely difficult to find.
Assistant Chief Jon Trapp with Red Lodge Fire Rescue remarked, “After almost two months of extensive search efforts, we are relieved that she is able to be returned to her family.” Tatum Morell was an avid and experienced hiker who planned to climb five mountain peaks over 12000’ in the West Fork of Rock Creek near Red Lodge Montana.
She backpacked into the area, camped at Shadow Lake on Thursday, July 1st, and contacted her family via an InReach satellite communicator that evening. This was her last communication with her family. It is believed that she left her tent on July 2nd and didn’t return.
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