Search continues for missing hiker

The search for a missing Arizona woman believed to have been hiking in the Great Bear Wilderness was still ongoing as of late Tuesday afternoon, with about 50 personnel from multiple agencies participating in the rescue effort.

Madeline Connelly, 25, was reported missing by her family after she failed to return from a day hike with her dog on May 4, while visiting relatives in the area. A full-scale search began two days later, after her car was found at the Bear Creek Trailhead, about 4 miles south of Essex on U.S. 2.

Searchers reported spotting bear tracks and a mother bear with cubs in the area, but Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry on Tuesday noted that in an area known for its large bear population and most of the animals having emerged from hibernation, such signs aren’t unusual.

“They’ve seen some bear, they’ve also seen some moose, some elk and they’ve seen some deer,” Curry said Tuesday afternoon. “There’s still nothing to indicate that there’s any bear involvement.”

He said that rescuers were scouring a “vast area” beginning at the trailhead, noting that the trail network splits off in several directions after a few miles. The trailhead is used to access the adjacent Mount Furlong as well as the remote Schaffer Meadows airstrip along the Middle Fork Flathead River.

“Kind of ‘Search 101’ is you search the hub, and you search the hub again, and then you start working your way up the spokes,” he said.

Curry also noted that rescuers have located at least one set of tracks from a hiker with a dog, but without any shoes to verify the prints, they can’t be certain whether they belong to Connelly.

“We have some sporadic tracks. We’re not 100 percent sure they’re hers. We’re focusing on the area from the trailhead, back in probably 15 to 16 miles,” Curry said. “Obviously, the more time that goes by, survivability becomes a concern, but as of right now, people have survived longer with less and in worse conditions. We’re still in search-and-rescue mode right now, until we find something.”

The effort entered its fourth day Tuesday. The sheriff’s office, Flathead Search and Rescue, Glacier National Park, the Flathead National Forest, Two Bear Air Rescue and the Flathead Office of Emergency Services are assisting in the search.

Reporter Sam Wilson can be reached at 758-4407 or by email at swilson@dailyinterlake.com.