The two hikers lost in the San Isabel National Forest have been found and are not injured, officials said Thursday afternoon.
The hikers, Kennah Karner, 22, and Katie Mayer, 21, both of the Denver area, were spotted by helicopter in a rocky area on Missouri Mountain in the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness , said Chaffee County Sheriff John Spezze.
One woman was hoisted up and taken off the mountain via a Blackhawk helicopter and the other woman is being walked out of the area with search and rescue ground crews and her dogs, Spezze said.
The women were supposed to be in the Mount Belford and Mount Oxford area on Wednesday, Spezze said, but they ended up in a “technical” area on Missouri Mountain that took them longer to get out.
Storms Wednesday likely contributed to disorienting them, Spezze said.
The search began early Thursday morning after the women were reported overdue from their hike at 9 p.m. Wednesday. Ground crews and helicopters were looking for the hikers along with search dogs.
Neither of the hikers were injured.
Elizabeth Hernandez: 303-954-1223, ehernandez@denverpost.com or
