Missing hiker at Zion found safe after 12 days
Gofundme campaign raised rescue money
Nearly two weeks after she was reported missing in Zion National Park on Oct. 6, hiker Holly Courtier was found alive.
Courtier, 38, of Los Angeles was found Sunday by search and rescue crews along the Virgin River after rangers at the Utah park received a tip that she had been spotted, Zion officials said in a news release Monday. The release did not give details about her condition or what had happened.
A Gofundme campaign was started last week to help cover search and rescue costs, as well as any necessary care for Courtier. The campaign had raised more than $11,000 as of Monday evening.
The campaign organizer, Jaime Strong, wrote on the page that Courtier was dropped off in the park by a private shuttle bus around 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 6 but didn’t show up for her return shuttle at 4:40 p.m. Strong wrote that Courtier didn’t have her phone with her when she went missing and hadn’t told anyone what her plans were for the trip.
Details about Courtier’s rescue were not immediately available, but her sister, Jillian CourtierOliver, told ABC’S “Good Morning America” that she is recovering after being found with bruises all over her body.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone’s continued support and prayers!” Strong wrote in an update on the
Gofundme page Sunday.
The family wrote on its website, helpfindholly.com, thanking those who helped search for her.
“We are overjoyed that she was found safely today,” the family wrote in the statement. “We would like to thank the rangers and search teams who relentlessly looked for her day and night and never gave up hope. We are also so grateful to the countless volunteers who were generous with their time, resources and support. This wouldn’t have been possible without the network of people who came together.”