CARBON COUNTY, Mont. — The body of a 23-year-old from Idaho who disappeared on a solo mountain-climbing trip in July has been found.
The Carbon County Sheriff's Office confirmed that the remains belong to Tatum Morell, a graduate student at Montana State University who had been attempting to climb five mountains in five days when she went missing in the Beartooth range.
Morell was last heard from on July 1, when she sent a message to her mother in Ketchum via a satellite communicator. Searchers believe she left her camp at Shadow Lake the next morning to climb her first peak, and never returned to the campsite.
The 23-year-old was an experienced hiker and outdoorswoman who had previously completed similar multi-day climbing trips, authorities say.
According to NBC Montana, Morell is believed to have been killed by rockfall.
Her remains were retrieved Sunday and flown to the Red Lodge Airport, where her family, emergency responders, and other residents gathered.
"We could not be more grateful and thankful to all of the personnel and agencies that worked together in this effort to hopefully bring some peace and closure to the Morell family, and could not have carried out this effort without all of their assistance," the sheriff's office wrote.
Red Lodge Fire Search & Rescue, Absaroka Search Dogs, the U.S. Forest Service, Montana Fish & Game, the Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office, Billings Flying Service, and Two Bear Air all assisted in the nearly two-month search effort.
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