Found Alive UT - Holly Suzanne Courtier, 38, Zion National Park, 6 Oct 2020 #2

Thanks for the link showing how much the rescue cost, @GuyfromCanada !

As long as the family pays this money back I think people will understand their motives were honest.
No one needs to know outside of LE what reason HSC had for this escapade, but returning monies that the taxpayers or others had to fork out would be a sign of good faith.
The only problem is that the next time someone goes missing there may not be the sense of emergency as people will be wary of someone 'crying wolf'.
This hurts innocent victims who are truly lost -- and not just saying they went for 12 + days without water and were still able to walk out with only a minimal hospital checkup resulting in a bill of good health.
MOO.

 

Agreed.
There is so much that's hinky about this case.
The 'hash marks' on the tree looked photoshopped.
I'm wondering if her family feels embarrassed by it all ?
I'm sure we all wish them well being and happiness from this time on and moving forward, and and accounting and restitution of the money used for what appears to be an unneeded rescue.
Imo.

 

Findings, including cost of rescue, released in Zion National Park missing woman case

On Thursday, the National Park Service released the findings of their investigation regarding a hiker who went missing in Zion National Park in October and was subsequently found alive 12 days later.

In January, the Washington County Sheriff’s office released the findings of their investigation citing no “evidence of fraud or any other criminal activity associated with the disappearance and subsequent rescue.”

The full findings of the National Park Service’s investigation, though heavily redacted to protect the personal privacy of those involved, contain 21 documents – 136 pages – of maps, unit logs and other information regarding the search and rescue operations of Courtier.

Detailed logs of the day-to-day search operations include information about the areas searched, shuttle logs, tips from visitors and how Courtier was ultimately found in a tan hammock near where she was first reported missing at The Grotto picnic area and shuttle stop that also provides access to the popular Angels Landing trailhead.

One of the more noteworthy findings was an expense log of the cost of the search and rescue operation, which totaled just over $60,000.

The full results of the findings can be found here.

 

Thank you for the report! The number of volunteers is impressive as are their use of at least 5 dogs, a drone, a helicopter and thermal imaging cameras and scopes. Volunteers spoke with over 100 hikers.

Someone left a tip that they may have seen Holly starting on the Watchman trail around dusk on 10/6/2020. Subsequent searches of the area were unsuccessful. Some of the searched areas sound dangerous.

Early on one of the teams looked in a "forested area" where one might tie up a hammock so they must have had a decent idea of what Holly had taken. They also knew about her blue backpack and identified it as an Osprey -Viva 50 liter backpack.

And one small mystery: Authorities put an orange sticker on Holly's car when it was found abandoned in the parking lot. The sticker asked that she call the NPS or 911 if she returned. The next day the sticker had been removed. Probably nothing nefarious but interesting nonetheless.

I'm sure the SAR teams were relieved that Holly was found alive no matter what the circumstances. Just recently a hiker was killed from a fall from one of the trails. That must be so hard on the searchers. Kudos to the volunteers and rangers for their hard work!!

 

Who is going to press charges against someone who said she had a mental crisis? Can't "prove" that she did not...whether she did this for an ulterior motive, spiritual quest, or mental health issue, it really doesn't matter much.

But, I don't think that this is going to help her resume as a nanny.