A 31-year-old La Plata County woman reported missing after she failed to return from a run northeast of Durango on Monday has been found.
According to a sheriff’s department news release, a person walking a dog on a trail heard calls for help at about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday.
That person contacted an experiential-education group from Colvig Silver Camp that had been helping with the search for Marla Luckey. They reached Luckey at about 1 p.m. and helped her back to the Red Creek Trailhead, where her car was parked.
Luckey said she became lost while running. She was not prepared to stay out overnight and was wearing basic running clothes.
As temperatures dropped to the upper 30s, she sat with her knees drawn up to her chest and pulled her running shirt over them in an attempt to preserve body heat.
La Plata County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Dan Bender said Luckey was smart to stop when it got dark.
“People who continue to move after nightfall when lost in the backcountry often sustain injuries as a result, compounding their problem,” he said.
La Plata County Search & Rescue and La Plata County Mounted Patrol began their search for Luckey on Monday evening and continued to search through the night because they were concerned that she was unprepared to spend the night outdoors.
Bender said anyone venturing off-road for any reason should carry basic survival items that can get them through a night when temperatures drop.
