Missing Glenwood Springs woman

[abirken]

Hi Guys! I know how tight many of us are on Bogley and many of us hike or/and live in Utah so that's why I am posting this topic here. I wanted to pass on this little bit of information about a local woman here in Glenwood Springs that has been missing. If by chance any of you out there ran into this woman over the past week, please contact the appropriate people. So sad to hear about news like this and I am hoping she is found as soon as possible. Here is the link to our local paper. Thanks ya'll for passing on the word.

http://www.postindependent.com/article/20081120/VALLEYNEWS/811192691/1083&ParentProfile=1074&title=Missing%20woman%20may%20have%20headed%20to%2 0Bluff%20area


MOAB, Utah

[James_B_Wads2000]

Here is an update on this missing woman. It looks like they have found her car at the Little Wild Horse Canyon TH. Anyone down there on Sunday that might have seen her?



http://www.sltrib.com/ci_11072834

Search on for missing hiker in Goblin Valley Area

By Melinda Rogers
The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated: 11/25/2008 04:12:16 PM MST

Search efforts are underway for a missing Colorado woman in south central Utah's Goblin Valley.
Family of 54-year-old Rose Backhaus of New Castle, Colo. reported her missing Nov. 16, said Emery County Sheriff's Sgt. Bliss Mead. The woman's 2004 Ford Explorer was found parked near the trailhead of Little Wildhorse Canyon on Monday at about 2:30 p.m., Mead said.
Search and rescue teams from the sheriff's office are combing the 3,654-acre park for signs of Backhaus, who family described as an "avid hiker."
Mead said the woman's family and employer had not heard from her Nov.17, when she was scheduled to return home - behavior that would be unusual for Backhaus.
"It's highly irregular for her not to report in," Mead said.
A search plane flew over the Wildhorse Canyon area on Wednesday evening, but found no signs of the woman, Mead said. Sheriff's deputies also interviewed several hikers who returned from the trail Backhaus is believed to have hiked, but no one reported seeing her, Mead said.
Backhaus was last seen in Moab on Nov. 15, where she'd been in Canyonlands National Park hiking, Mead said.
It's unclear whether the woman has sufficient survival gear. Temperatures in Goblin Valley have dipped into the 20s overnight in recent days, Mead said. Backhaus has hiked alone on several previous trips, he said.
Anyone with information on Backhaus should contact the Emery County Sheriff's Office at 435-381-2404.
mrogers@sltrib.com.



James

[JP]

I hope all is well with her, let's hope the authorities and volunteers find her unscathed :nod:

[RedMan]

How she was a ways from Moab. Hope she is ok.

[rockgremlin]

Sadly, if without sufficient survival gear she's probably gone the way of hypothermia. Hopefully she's just meeting up with a boyfriend, and they've since driven to Vegas for the extended holiday weekend.


Hey, it could happen....

[greyhair biker]

Watching FOX13 this morning, she's not found yet.

[trackrunner]

Watching FOX13 this morning, she's not found yet.

heard car was found at Goblin state park area, still no sign

[James_B_Wads2000]

I have a theory. I think she went to do the LWH/Bell Loop. She went up one of them thinking it was the other and when she got to the Behind the Reef road she turned the wrong way and went down either Chute or Ding canyon. Maybe she realized this and tried to turn back before getting lost/caught in the cold and dark. My money is on Chute because if she had gone down Ding it is much shorter and the wash leads back to the road almost insight of the TH.


Who knows? :ne_nau:





James

[oldno7]

Hope they find her fast---storm is almost here.

[Jaxx]

If they are looking near goblin valley then they are never going to find her. That really shows how much news people care about details.

I hope they do find her. I think you are on to something James.

[James_B_Wads2000]

Yeah the news sucks but it is because most Utahns don

[Jaxx]

yeah if anyone can find her its the SAR. I hope I never need them but it is a comfort knowing they are there.

[Iceaxe]

I have a theory. I think she went to do the LWH/Bell Loop. She went up one of them thinking it was the other and when she got to the Behind the Reef road she turned the wrong way and went down either Chute or Ding canyon.

Good guess James.....

I'll bet anyone $100 she went up Bell, missed the turn to LWH.... exited out the back of the reef and turned the wrong way....

....and than things snow balled form there and became a big shit sandwich.... she probably got turned around, maybe hurt, night fell, took shelter in a hidden crack, hypothermia set in, yada, yada....

I bet I have helped over 50 people I've ran into wandering around behind the reef who have missed the LWH turn and gotten lost.

And not to pick on the poor woman.... but no check-in person with an itinerary. :nono:

:cool2:

[BruteForce]

I have a theory. I think she went to do the LWH/Bell Loop. She went up one of them thinking it was the other and when she got to the Behind the Reef road she turned the wrong way and went down either Chute or Ding canyon.

Good guess James.....

I'll bet anyone $100 she went up Bell, missed the turn to LWH.... exited out the back of the reef and turned the wrong way....

....and than things snow balled form there and became a big shit sandwich.... she probably got turned around, maybe hurt, night fell, took shelter in a hidden crack, hypothermia set in, yada, yada....

I bet I have helped over 50 people I've ran into wandering around behind the reef who have missed the LWH turn and gotten lost.

And not to pick on the poor woman.... but no check-in person with an itinerary. :nono:

:cool2:

I would tend to agree. Not hard to get turned around without a compass or GPSr to get you going in the correct direction.

I'd never consider going to the swell without at least a compass and my SPOT. :ne_nau:

[R]

When I did that loop I made it counterclockwise, up Little Wild Horse and down Bell. Navigation was never an issue going that way, but you may be on to something when you talk about doing it clockwise. Part of that loop is the road, and if you missed Little Wild Horse and continued on east, that would put you in Chute Canyon or Crack Canyon, and by then it would be getting very late in the day.

Hope she turns up, alive and well.

-Richard

[asdf]

I am with you guys. I bet she went up bell then either missed LWH and headed towards Chute or went the other direction toward Ding. Either way thats a pretty long hike. Add in the fact that once the light goes down all those canyons on the back side of the reef look pretty much the same. I was in the swell this past weekend and it was cold as hell between sunset to sunrise.

I hope for the best.

[trackrunner]

I believe this is day 11. She's been missing since not this last sunday but the one before that. A long time to be gone prepared for only a day hike.

[asdf]

I have never got much cell service after leaving Green River.

My Cell phone was working in the south end of the Goblin Valley parking lot this past April but last month it did not work at all. This weekend I had service at the Assembly Hall and along the Mexican Mtn. Road... go figure.

[erial]

more from the denver post:

A Colorado woman missing in a rugged and isolated area of eastern Utah left extensive notes in her car outlining where she had been hiking, including her arrival in a Utah state park before she disappeared, authorities said Tuesday afternoon.

Emery County Sheriff Lamar Guymon said that Rose Backhaus of New Castle left the notes in her 2004 Ford Explorer, which was discovered Monday in the parking lot of Goblin Valley State Park about 12 miles from Hanksville, Utah.

In the notes, said Guymon, Backhaus outlined where she had hiked and stayed the day before near Moab. She said she had arrived Nov. 16 at Goblin Valley State Park and was "happy."

"She said it was warm, nice and something new," said Guymon.

Guymon said that at the register at the parking lot, an individual from Colorado

[erial]

and one more update from the post:

Three search dogs teams failed today to locate New Castle hiker Rose Backhaus in Utah's Goblin Valley State Park, Emery County, Utah Sheriff Lamar Guymon said this evening.

The teams, consisting of one handler and one dog per team, were brought in from Salt Lake City to search for Backhaus who was last seen in Moab on Nov. 16.

More than two dozen searchers from at least four Utah agencies who have been searching for Backhaus since her maroon 2004 Explorer was discovered Monday in the parking lot of the 3,654-acre state park, 70 miles due west of Moab.

During the past three days, searchers have also used planes and a helicopter to try to find Backhaus in the isolated, rugged canyons of the park.

Guymon said the search, which was called off after it got dark tonight, will resume Thanksgiving morning.

Backhaus' car has been left at the parking lot.

"We are leaving it there so she has a place to come back to," said the sheriff.

In some notes she left in the car, Backhaus said she had just arrived at the park on Nov. 16 after hiking and staying in the Moab area.

She said she was happy to be at Goblin Valley.

"She said it was warm, nice and something new," said Guymon.

Guymon said that at the register at the parking lot, an individual from Colorado

[Iceaxe]

When I did that loop I made it counterclockwise, up Little Wild Horse and down Bell. Navigation was never an issue going that way,

The problem with the LWH/Bell Loop.... is folks think they are doing it counterclockwise, but they miss the turn into LWH. And once they exit out the back of the reef onto the road they turn west, towards Ding/Dang...

They hike west along the road and can't find a canyon to descend back to the car.... getting lost eats up time and the day light hours so fast it's amazing, I know, I've been lost....

[erial]

Updated: 11/28/2008 03:29:33 PM MST


Rose Backhaus (New Castle Sheriff's Department)Related
Missing hiker Rose Backhaus
Nov 27:Search dogs fail to turn up hiker
Nov 26:Dogs aid search for missing Colo. hiker
Missing hiker left trip notes in car


Utah authorities searching for New Castle hiker Rose Backhaus issued a plea today asking people who ventured into the backcountry at Utah's Goblin Valley State Park between Nov. 16 and Monday to contact them.

Emery County, Utah, Sheriff Lamar Guymon said that according to the register at the park, the majority of those who hiked the rugged, canyon-filled park were from Colorado.

He said he would like people who were using the park then to contact the Emery County Sheriff's Department at 435-381-2404.

Specifically, Guymon is asking people who may have seen Backhaus hiking the canyons or saw her maroon 2004 Explorer parked at the Little Wild Horse Canyon parking lot

[JP]

Cell phone in the car, boy does that suck. I hope all is well with her :nod:

[ExpUt]

Lots of folks down that way this weekend, any update by chance? :ne_nau:

[James_B_Wads2000]

I did a quick google search and it looks like they are still looking for her and asking for anyone in that area over that weekend to contact the authorities.

IMO two weeks is plenty of time to check the obvious main routes. Meaning it is most likely she didn

[JP]

[quote=James_B_Wads2000]PS Hey JP that whole area is a cell phone dead zone especially in the canyons or near the cliffs. So if she had had her phone it most likely wouldn

[RedMan]

I saw a poster if her in the Rifle rest stop so they are looking other places as well.

[DWayne27]

I was there this weekend. There were signs all over the overlook at Goblin Valley, and we saw a NPS helicopoter and a big Emery County Sheriff RV with satellites and everything. Seems like the search continues. My bet was getting lost after exiting LWH as well. It definitely isnt looking good

[R]

See, this is what makes my wife so nervous about me hiking alone. We all think we have survival and navigation skills, but we are all just one rockslide, turned ankle, unforcast cold front or mismarked map from serious trouble. I'm not saying we shouldn't do it; I'm saying that we all should remember to respect the wild even when all seems well.

[Last Child]

See, this is what makes my wife so nervous about me hiking alone. We all think we have survival and navigation skills, but we are all just one rockslide, turned ankle, unforcast cold front or mismarked map from serious trouble. I'm not saying we shouldn't do it; I'm saying that we all should remember to respect the wild even when all seems well.

Yep! Things like this is exactly why I bought one of those SPOT gps gadgets. I do a lot of hiking, biking, fishing, skiing, etc. alone and this unit has brought a ton of piece of mind to my wife. Anyone who ventures out alone should have one. They are fairly inexpensive and cost $100 a year for a subscription. Pretty cheap piece of mind and who knows it may just save your life.

Food for thought.

[oldno7]

I also have and use a spot. They get back to your contacts in minutes telling them all is well. Nice in remote areas. I've used mine in Northwash/poison springs, and the swell out there. $150 is the difference between life and death. :ne_nau:

[BruteForce]

I also have and use a spot. They get back to your contacts in minutes telling them all is well. Nice in remote areas. I've used mine in Northwash/poison springs, and the swell out there. $150 is the difference between life and death. :ne_nau:

I don't go anywhere remote without mine. When I dismount a machine, I attach it to my body.

[JP]

Food for thought.
Sure is :2thumbs:

[erial]

December 2, 2008

Missing hiker in Little Wild Horse

The Emery County Sheriff's Office has been involved in a search for a missing Colorado woman. Grand County Sheriff enlisted the help of Emery County officials when it became apparent the missing woman wasn't in Grand or San Juan counties.

A call came into Grand County on Nov. 17 when the missing woman, 54 year old Rose Backhaus did not appear for work on Nov. 17.

The last known record of Backhaus was when she checked out of the LaQuinta Inn in Moab on Nov. 16.

Emery County officials located her car at the Little Wild Horse trailhead on Nov. 24 by 4 p.m. Grand County had spent the previous week searching in Grand and San Juan counties because family members believed Backhaus to be in those counties hiking.

Emery County Sheriff's Office deputies and Emery County Search and Rescue posse combed the area on Nov. 24-Dec. 1 and they have still not located the missing woman. Eighteen search and rescue posse members along with the Utah Highway Patrol helicopter have been combing the area.

She is from New Castle, Colo. Cell phone records show that Backhaus checked her cell phone messages on Sunday and that is the last known contact with Backhaus. Cell phone records are being checked to see if there was any contact past Nov. 16.

Backhaus was due to return to work on Nov. 17.

The search has continued throughout the Thanksgiving holiday and the Emery County Sheriff's Office with the assistance of the state parks, adult probation and parole, and the Emery County Sheriff's Posse search and Rescue, Department of Public Safety helicopter with pilot Terry Mercer and the Rocky Mountain Search and Rescue dogs have searched the area by air and by ground, ATVs have also combed the area.

The search has spanned from Goblin Valley, through the San Rafael Reef and to the Muddy River with no results or additional clues to the whereabouts of Backhaus. Backhaus is described as 5'2", 135-150 pounds, wears glasses and was wearing hiking pants and a lime green fleece jacket at the time of her disappearance.

She arrived at the Little Wild Horse trail head around 10 a.m. and her vehicle has been there ever since. It is a 2004 maroon Ford Explorer with a bike rack on the back. The Emery County Sheriff's Office is requesting that anyone who was in the area from the morning of Nov. 16-24 and has any knowledge to the location of Backhaus should contact the sheriff's office at 435-381-2404.

Emery County Sheriff LaMar Guymon said, "We have searched by ground, air, 4-wheelers and on foot every slot canyon and have moved west of the Reef and are in the process of working towards Mackay Flat on foot. The area has been searched thoroughly by air. We have had approximately 20 search and rescue personnel and deputies in the area each day since the call came in that Backhaus was missing. At this point we are looking at every possiblity and pursuing every lead. There is an eye witness that saw Backhaus enter the canyon that Sunday morning. From that point on no one has seen her. We are scaling back our efforts, but will continue to search as we are able to find manpower. Liablility issues have become a problem and we can only be responsible for our trained search and rescue workers. Volunteers can search in the area on their own, but they do not answer to us and are not our responsiblity. When the search first started we searched all the pot holes in Little Wild Horse and Bell Canyon. Since that time it has rained and filled the pot holes and we have had our rappeling crew search all the pot holes again. The upper end of Little Wild Horse is not well marked and beyond that you can become easily confused you could go south or northeast and you could end up on Mackay Flat or Hidden Splendor, or if you go the other way, eventually you'll run into the freeway. We are just working to eliminate areas one step at a time. Scent dogs are just good within a few hours of a disappearance. But, the tracking dogs will find any person in the area, either alive or deceased. These dogs are trained to find people. We will continue to do what we can to find Backhaus," said Sheriff Guymon.
__________________

[erial]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_11123779

Sheriff to take found items to home of missing hiker

Updated: 12/02/2008 09:09:52 PM MST

Three things Utah authorities found during their week-long search for missing New Castle hiker Rose Backhaus will be brought to Colorado on Thursday to see whether relatives and friends can identify them as belonging to Backhaus.

Lamar Guymon, sheriff for Emery County, Utah, said he will travel to New Castle, west of Glenwood Springs, on Thursday with a glove, a ChapStick and a picture of a footprint possibly left by Backhaus, who was last seen in Moab on Nov. 16.

Guymon said he will interview Backhaus' relatives and friends.

Her car was found Nov. 24 in the Little Wild Horse Canyon parking lot near Goblin Valley State Park in eastern Utah.

Planes, helicopters, dogs and dozens of people from various Utah agencies and volunteers have searched for her.

Guymon said Tuesday that a man and his nephew from Salt Lake City said they saw Backhaus head toward the Little Wild Horse Canyon trailhead in hiking gear.

The sheriff said searchers have looked for Backhaus in a huge area

[JP]

Very sad.

[abirken]

A fellow boyscout mom said that Rose (the missing woman) normally buys a wreath from our troop every year for our annual scout fundraiser. And this year is just so sad because she's not around to buy or deliver one too. From what I've heard in our community, she's a very generous and highly loved woman. I know so many people that are friends with her and everyone is very sad about her disappearance. :ne_nau:

[erial]

Search for Rose Backhaus focused on 2 Utah canyons

http://www.gjsentinel.com/hp/content...ing_woman.html


By DENNIS WEBB

Friday, December 05, 2008

Armed with new clues on what she may have been wearing, searchers Friday resumed their efforts along a popular Utah trail where a New Castle woman disappeared Nov. 16.

Emery County Sheriff Lamar Guymon said four searchers began a slow, methodical retracing of Little Wild Horse and Bell canyons in search of Rose Backhaus, 54. After taking a day off Thursday to regroup, searchers resumed their focus on two canyons that they have scoured on the ground and from the air, and with the help of dogs and rappelling teams, since Nov. 24.

That

[JP]

[quote=erial]They also haven

[erial]

Emery County sheriff: Long search is unusual

Monday, December 08, 2008

Sheriff Lamar Guymon is used to people getting lost in Emery County, Utah, a landscape of narrow slot canyons, vast deserts, and on its eastern edge, the Green River.

He

[trackrunner]

Every time I see a new post in here I think there is an update news article that a body was found, or that she was found somewhere else alive. Everytime it's about the search continuing. She is a week away from month of being lost? How sad it must be for family & friends not to have closure and know the outcome.

[JP]

How sad it must be for family & friends not to have closure and know the outcome.
I'm sure that part is really tough.

[Iceaxe]

I hear they might have found the missing hiker.... stay tuned....

[davehuth]

Doug French was in Baptist Draw on Sunday and saw it all come down; stay tuned to see some pics from Doug.

[french_de]

As we drove out to the TH of Baptist Draw we sort of intercepted a group of Emery County SR vehicles on the last leg of the road. They very kindly let us mingle at the TH as they set up a command post to deal with the transportation of a hiker's body that was discovered by three canyoneers from Colorado. Because of the weather on Saturday, they had opted to do a short version of Upper Chute by dropping into a side canyon. They discovered her body under a ledge. She was a long way from Bell canyon. She had to have crossed over FaultLine canyon to get where she was. They transported the body out of the canyon with a helicopter

[Jaxx]

sad story. Was it hypothermia or did she fall off the ledge?

[Iceaxe]

Thanks Doug....

I was just looking on the map. Looks like she hiked up LWH, crossed the BTR Road and keep on hiking up the upper section of LWH. Look at the map distance wise and it's not to far (approx 5 miles), and the hiking in upper LWH is really fast (easy to hike 2 mph) but the scenery is nothing special....

just a guess...

[french_de]

sad story. Was it hypothermia or did she fall off the ledge?One of the deputies at the scene said it looked like she just stopped hiking and sat down under the ledge. Further travel down the canyon was impossilbe because of the drop off into Chute. Most probably hypothemia/Exposure.

[Jaxx]

sad ending to the story. Atleast they found the body.

[James_B_Wads2000]

Was she in the drainage between the TR for Upper Chute/Baptist and Fault Line? I guess she missed the behind the reef road and just kept walking. It was just dumb-luck that these canyoneers happen to go down that drainage and find her. :ne_nau:

So sad.




James

[Iceaxe]

Here is where I understand she was found (approximately).

[Iceaxe]

Body of missing Colo. woman found in Emery County
April 27th, 2009 @ 3:31pm

EMERY COUNTY -- The body of a Colorado woman who was reported missing since November was found in Emery County Saturday.

On April 25, three men who were hiking in a slot canyon came across a human body. They notified the Emery County Sheriff's Office, and deputies recovered the remains the next day.

The body was transported to the Utah Medical Examiner's Office, and later identified as 54-year-old Rose Backus.

Backhaus was last seen checking out of a Moab hotel on Nov. 16. Her SUV was found at a nearby canyon trail head on Nov. 24. A search crew was organized, but nothing was found until this weekend.

http://media.bonnint.net/slc/816/81687/8168781.jpg
http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=6294272

[Iceaxe]

Body of missing hiker found
By Erin Alberty
The Salt Lake Tribune

The body of a Colorado woman was found this weekend in a remote canyon in Emery County five months after she disappeared on a hiking trip to Moab.

Three hikers on Saturday found the body of Rose Backus, 54, in a drainage of a tributary that drops into Upper Chute Canyon near Baptist Draw, said Emery County Sheriff Lamar Guymon.

"It looks like she got to a point where she couldn't continue down and she couldn't get back up where she came from," Guymon said. Backus was found near a 40- to 50-foot drop-off.

Medical examiners determined she died of exposure and did not indicate she had any broken bones or debilitating injuries, Guymon said.

Backus, of Glenwood Springs, Colo., was reported missing from Moab 16 days after she was believed to be hiking in Little Wild Horse and Bell canyons, Guymon said. Her car was at the parking lot of the Little Wild Horse Canyon trailhead.

She apparently hiked up Bell Canyon and took a wrong turn where the canyon opens up, Guymon said. She likely continued too far west and turned into the drainage rather than into Little Wild Horse Canyon.

She was carrying a book with a map that "doesn't give you any real idea where you should turn," Guymon said.

She had no ropes and no food and was wearing a light parka, Guymon said.

There is no sign of foul play, Guymon said.

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_12239335

[trackrunner]

She was carrying a book with a map that "doesn't give you any real idea where you should turn," Guymon said.

Always the beta fault, right Ice. When I first read this I thought of a certain book. Anyone else think of this book.

No I'm not being a troll.

Kind of sad that she went this way. So close. They must have searched close by. I wonder how close they got. Just glad that family and friends now know. Still sad. I wish the best for them

[RedMan]

RIP Rose.

This is where I want to gently remind you all to get a SPOT.
I'm confident she would have been saved by having one.

[abirken]

Man..........I didn't pick up a paper today. Glad I have Bogley to keep me posted on my local news. Very glad they found Rose. So f'ing sad, but relief and closure in sight for her friends and family.

[Iceaxe]

If she had of just followed the simple rules of leaving a route description with a responsible check in person she would probably still be alive... She was missing for a week before anyone started looking for her.... and it took them a couple of days to track her to the LWH trailhead.

Looking at where she started and where she ended up she probably wandered close to several roads. When she hit the South Baptist Draw drainage she ended up in if she had of turned up instead of down she would have hit a major road in a very short distance... heck, turning downstream was probably the only bad choice she could have made when hitting the drainage.

I'm happy they found her.... the always wondering would be hard....

.

[Moose Droppings]

sad story indeed.

...i remember just how cold it was camping behind-the-reef the night of the 15th. a stiff breeze added to the misery. day temp hovered slightly above freezing when not exposed to the ever-present stiff breeze on the day of the 16th. decided on a change of plan - Wild Horse and Farnsworth rather than LWH. potential water exposure was no place for a 4 and 1.5 year-old on that day. Prematurely broke down camp and headed home late into the evening on the 16th. Coldness...

my condolences to the Backus family and friends.