Search crews in southwest Colorado rescued 43 people with an Arizona Boy Scout troop who were stranded Wednesday on an ice patch while hiking in a remote mountain area.
“With only minor injuries reported, everyone is accounted for,” Ouray County officials said in a news release. “The group is safe.”
The troop was located on Richmond Pass near Red Mountain Pass — U.S. 550 — between Ouray and Silverton.
The release said the leaders and Scouts were stuck in deep snow and icy conditions at 12,300 feet.
Marti Whitmore, a Ouray County spokeswoman, said rescuers located the troop at about 1 p.m. and walked them back to the trailhead. She said the group was “just cold, wet and tired.”
A mix of snow, rain and sleet were reported in the area where the group was rescued.
The county sheriff’s office received a distress call from the Scouts at about 7 a.m.
Whitmore said the troop had been hiking in the area since Monday.
Officials say the area where the group was found lacks cellphone service and is on a mix of county and federal land.
Heavy rains in the southwest corner of the state, including Ouray County, have prompted the issuance of a flash flood watch over the entire area.
