Woman found dead in pickup

Joan Wallace had been missing for three weeks

The Daily Inter Lake

The search for a missing woman ended Sunday afternoon when her pickup was found crashed in trees off of U.S. 2.

Joan Wallace, 73, died inside her vehicle, which was found by a property owner about 15 miles west of Kalispell.

She was last seen May 9 in Kalispell. Her family reported her missing when she didn't return to her home at McGinnis Meadows in Lincoln County.

Sheriff Jim Dupont flew over U.S. 2 to the county line, looking for Wallace. Ground searches turned up no signs of the woman. That her bank card had not been used eased officials' concerns that she might have been a victim of crime, but it did not make the search for her easier.

Finally, a landowner walking his property on Sunday found the vehicle down a steep embankment, about 150 feet from the roadway, according to Undersheriff Mike Meehan. It wasn't visible from the highway and was obscured from the air by two trees that fell across the truck, Meehan said.

The accident is under investigation by the Montana Highway Patrol.

Deputy Coroner Dave Leib said there is no reason to believe that Wallace's accident didn't happen immediately after she left Kalispell on May 9. On that day, she was in town for a doctor's appointment and left for home after stopping at a grocery store.

A dog she was caring for also was found deceased inside the truck.