Remains of hiker missing for two months in Yellowstone found buried beneath rock pile
Tatum Morell, a 23-year-old grad student attending Montana State University, was a skilled and experienced hiker. She set out to complete a personal goal of scaling five mountains to the north of Yellowstone National Park whose peaks rose above 12,000 feet. But soon after she left on that solo mission, she disappeared.
Tatum backpacked into the area, camped at Shadow Lake on July 1st, and contacted her family via an InReach satellite communicator that evening. That phone call was to be her final communication with loved ones. The Red Lodge Fire Rescue Unit that spearheaded the search for the missing hiker said that they believed she left her tent on July 2 – and never returned to her campsite.
By July 5, Tatum was officially listed as missing.
Search teams consisting of members of the Big Sky Search & Rescue Dog Team, Western Montana Search Dogs, Gallatin County Search & Rescue and Red Lodge Search and Rescue worked in an expanded search area the weekend of July 31st.
They were supported by the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s helicopter, which provided over 14 hours of flight time to insert and extract the teams. ~ NBC Montana
After exhaustive searches, it took only a few weeks of Tatum being missing for family and officials to fear the worst. By July 11, the professional searchers with the Beartooth Mountains in southern Montana shared that they felt “Tatum could no longer be alive.”
“It is believed that Tatum had a tragic accident and was unable to activate her inReach device,” the statement read, referring to the woman’s satellite communicator.
In a video statement, Morell’s family said, “Tate was a fiercely independent, adventurous soul who loved the mountains. We find some solace in knowing she passed in a place she loved.” The family statement included the woman’s brother Josh, and their parents, Kathy and Matt Morell. ~ The Associated Press
Fast forward almost two months later to Saturday, August 21, when climbers who were hiking well below the Whitetail couloir discovered the remains of Tatum Morell. Two Bear Air and the Yellowstone County Sheriff helicopter collaborated and worked with Red Lodge Fire Rescue and the Carbon County Sheriff’s office to recover her body from the deadly mountainous terrain.
Recovery teams were met by Tatum’s family and Red Lodge Fire Rescue personnel at the Red Lodge Airport.
Rescuers believe that Tatum was climbing Whitetail Peak when she was caught in a significant rockslide and suffered fatal injuries. The area where she was located had been searched numerous times by rescue crews. However, because Tatum was mostly buried under rocks, she was extremely difficult to find.
“After almost two months of extensive search efforts, we are relieved that she is able to be returned to her family,” said Assistant Chief Jon Trapp with Red Lodge Fire Rescue. “The effort volunteers put into finding Tatum surpassed anything I’ve seen in my 17 years with Search and Rescue operations; it was absolutely incredible.”
Red Lodge Fire Rescue, the Carbon County Sheriff and the family of Tatum Morrel have expressed their thanks to all the agencies and volunteers that assisted in the search efforts for Tatum Morell. For more on this tragic tale, see the video accompanying this article.
(Source: Red Lodge Fire Rescue)
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Follow Richard on Facebook and Twitter
