Found Deceased MT - Meghan Rouns, 27, horseback riding, horse found, phone found in saddlebag, McMaster Hills Rec Area, NE of Helena, 4 Oct 2024 *Active Search*

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406-219-7380.
May be an image of 2 people and horse


May be an image of 2 people and horse




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Lewis & Clark County Sheriff's Office

19h ·
We are conducting a search for Meghan Rita Rouns who went missing while horseback riding in the McMaster Hills Recreation Area.

Search and Rescue units from Lewis and Clark County and Jefferson County are on the ground. Drones from various law enforcement agencies are searching by air. A helicopter from Great Falls has also been called in to assist. We will be active in the recreation area throughout the majority of the day.

If you have information or would like to offer assistance, please call 406-219-7380.


(UPDATE, 9:35 p.m.) News Release, Lewis & Clark County Sheriff's Office

On Friday October 4, at about 8:05 pm, the 911 center received a phone call from Meghan's father, saying she had been riding in the Eagle Bay area east of Helena, on the west side of the Missouri River. She had been missing since 2 PM. The last time the parent saw her, she was wearing jeans and riding attire, and told relatives she was going horseback riding in that area.

Sheriff Dutton said ground units and water units have been searching the area, along with assistance from the the Montana Air National Guard and Mercy Flight from Great Falls.

Drones from the Helena Police Department, Helena Fire, and IFlyBigSky are also searching, along with Elkhorn SAR from Jefferson County with a ground team, as well as as dog teams.

Malmstrom Air Force Base is sending a helicopter to assist on Sunday.

Sheriff Dutton says the last known contact anyone had with Meghan was at about 4:20 pm on Friday when she took a picture on SnapChat. She was last known to be wearing blue jeans, a black shirt, possibly a grey hoodie and a ball cap.

Her horse was found early on Saturday morning, and her phone was located in a saddle bag; investigators are utilizing data on that phone to locate areas of interest.

If you want to help, please check in at the command post located at the Eastside McMasters Trailhead.
 

Name:ROUNS, MEGHAN RITA
Aliases: BELSCHNER, MEGHAN RITA, ROUNS, MEGHAN Gender: FEMALE
Date of Birth:06/13/1997
Race:WHITE
Hair Color:BROWN
Eye Color:BROWN
Height:5' 4''
Weight:140 LBS.
Date of Last Contact:10/04/2024
Age Now:27 YEARS
Other Reported Dates of Birth:
Investigating Agency:LEWIS AND CLARK COUNTY SHERIFF,(406) 442-7883

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Here is a map of the trails in the area where Meghan is believed to have gone missing:

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TrailForks.com McMaster Hills

ETA: Eagle Bay area was mentioned in the news article and Eagle Bay Road is on the right side of the trails. The east McMaster Hills trailhead is off of Eagle Bay Rd. She could have been riding on either side of Eagle Bay Road though. There are a few small country roads on the east side of Eagle Bay Rd., outside of the McMaster Hills trail system.
 
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Lewis & Clark County Sheriff's Office



We are conducting a search for Meghan Rita Rouns who went missing while horseback riding in the McMaster Hills Recreation Area. Search and Rescue units from Lewis and Clark County and Jefferson County are on the ground. Drones from various law enforcement agencies are searching by air. A helicopter from Great Falls has also been called in to assist. We will be active in the recreation area throughout the majority of the day.

If you have information or would like to offer assistance, please call 406-219-7380.

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Lots of comments at link, one in particular by a JF.
 
Did she trailer her horse to the trail or does she live close enough to ride there? Most horses head back to their barn if they are separated from their rider, for whatever reason. Hopeful that she will be found soon and she's okay!
 
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Sheriff Dutton says the last known contact anyone had with Meghan was at about 4:20 pm on Friday when she took a picture on SnapChat. She was last known to be wearing blue jeans, a black shirt, possibly a grey hoodie and a ball cap.

Her horse was found early on Saturday morning, and her phone was located in a saddle bag; investigators are utilizing data on that phone to locate areas of interest.

If you want to help, please check in at the command post located at the Eastside McMasters Trailhead.

 
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iFLYBIGSKY

This team is still out here supporting the search and family. Please, please thank your local fire department, Lewis & Clark County Sheriff's Office, and the search and rescue teams. You cannot understand the amount of work they do, and most of this is volunteer work.

Tonight the USAF will be using their new bird using high end thermal, and looking over the whole area.

Good night Montana,
IFlyBigSky will be out in the morning…

Evidently, the thermal imaging found nothing last night :(
 
Not necessarily. She could have gotten off for any number of reasons and horse bolted.
I'm thinking the horse was spooked by something. Maybe so unexpected that she fell off or was already dismounted. Any wild animals in that region, cougars, bears? A snake maybe? I mention snake because it happened here where I live, a rider was thrown when her horse suddenly reacted.
I hope Meghan is found safe and ok.
 
I just hope that they weather holds. It has been unreasonably warm so far, and next week looks okay. This is so close to home for me. I was at Alpine last week, and have follow up appointment there next week. They are such a fantastic team there.

Praying for a good outcome.
 
I agree. The terrain doesn't look that difficult to traverse with a lot of open spaces. If she were in any way capable, it seems she'd be able to get herself to a location were she could be found.
She was a skilled rider too. She did barrel racing according to her facebook pics. She could have gotten seriously injured in a fall or startled horse. I had a horse that "dropped" me more than once, one time because sprinklers went off on a golf course, there's very few trails where I live so we had to trail ride on the side of the road to get to them.

I am wondering if she has an fitbit or apple watch? I didn't see any in the few photos I looked at.
 

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