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

Holly Suzanne Courtier was last seen in Zion NP park on October 6, 2020 at about 1:30 p.m.

Courtier was dropped off at the Grotto parking area by a private shuttle, and was scheduled to be picked up at 4:40 p.m. that same day. She did not return for her scheduled pickup.

Courtier is 38 years old, 5'03" tall, and weighs approximately 125 pounds. She has brown hair and blue eyes. Her intended travel plan from the Grotto parking area and her current whereabouts are unknown. An active search for her is underway in Zion National Park, and US Park Rangers are investigating this missing person case with Washington County Sheriff's Office.

NPS Investigative Services Branch

 

Her fb: Holly Courtier

 

Can you help find a #missing person in #ZionNationalPark? #USParkRangers are seeking tips from the public to help locate Holly S. Courtier, who was last seen in the park on October 6, 2020 at about 1:30 p.m. Search underway.
Tips 888-653-0009
More at http://facebook.com/InvestigativeServicesNPS/posts/1418268611704616



https://twitter.com/SpecialAgentNPS/status/1314751291675963392

 

That is frustrating she didn't happen to mention to her shuttle driver where she planned to explore that day. They must at least know if she had a daypack with her when she was dropped off? Zion is the 3rd most visited national park in the US, she like!y was seen by other park guests, just may not be sharing anything publicly.

Hoping she is ok and located soon.

 

How scary! She has a daughter it seems from her Facebook and she looks to completely adore her. She must be so worried for her mom right now.

Looks like venturing into nature is normal for her. Hope they can locate her quickly!

 

Can someone explain the private shuttle thing? Would that be from a resort?

 

Park rangers and Washington County Sheriff's officials are currently searching the park and investigating the disappearance. Anyone with information on Courtier's location can contact the National Park Service Investigative Services Branch at 888-653-0009.

Courtier's social media profiles describe her as a resident of California.

Officials searching for woman missing since Tuesday at Zion National Park

Map from the article:
Google Maps

 

I was wondering that too. Just found this article that says “Zion Shuttle bus”. Missing person in Zion National Park, asking for public help

 

I think private shuttles are an alternative to the shuttle bus.

Here's info on both:
https://www.nps.gov/zion/planyourvisit/upload/July-1-2020-InfoSheet_a.pdf

Visitors who are not able to get a shuttle bus ticket can explore other
areas of the park such as the east side or the Kolob Terrace road
to Lava Point. Walking the Scenic Drive is long and hot and not
recommended. Consider renting a bike or e-bike, or contacting one of
the authorized private shuttle companies below.

Hire a Private Shuttle
The businesses listed below are authorized to provide shuttle service on the Scenic Drive. They can drop you off at a trailhead and pick you up when you are done.

 

An active search is underway for 38-year-old Holly Courtier, who was dropped off by a private shuttle at the Grotto parking area in @ZionNPS Friday and did not return for her scheduled pick-up. #KSLTV


Active Search Underway For Missing Woman At Zion NP

https://twitter.com/KSL5TV/status/1314980056796524544
1:24 PM · Oct 10, 2020·Twitter Web App

 

Her family member names a different last seen location in their appeal. The official one is Grotto parking area.

 

Has anyone seen Angel's Landing mentioned as the private shuttle pick-up point? Or that her car is parked near there and she was last seen by a park ranger?
Angels Landing Hike Guide - Zion National Park
خرائط ‪Google‬‏‏

 

“Information from other hikers and visitors is often very valuable for missing person investigations,” officials with the National Park Service Investigative Services Branch. “If you may have seen Courtier, if you have information that could help locate her, or if you were in the area of the Grotto on October 6, please contact us. You don’t have to tell us who you are, but please tell us what you know.”

Park rangers and Washington County deputies are investigating the missing person case.
Woman missing in Zion National Park for 4 days; rescuers seek public's help

 

not on any official site that I can link here

 

I've forgotten how beautiful Zion is, I actually looked up tickets to Vegas as it's only a two hour drive from there!

Do we know where Holly lives or works? Her facebook says Agora Hills? Was she visiting Utah?

Holly Courtier (hcourtier) on Pinterest
Login • Instagram

 

No official info on that yet. I doubt that her car is parked near Angel's Landing, as private vehicles aren't allowed on the Scenic Drive. That's why shuttle buses or licensed private shuttles are used. IMO she would have parked at the visitor center which is the starting point for the shuttles. Also, some of the trails/sights might be closed, including Angel's Landing.

 

Yes, if you had clicked on the Google link in my post. It lands on a picture of the visitor's center parking lot.

 

My first question would be how experienced is she at hiking these types of parks? In other words, what is the likelihood she underestimated how much water to bring, for example, or became lost going off trail?

Did she have any high tech hiking stuff? (You can tell how little I know about tech.)

Is there any chance she planned to meet someone there?

Really hoping she will be found safe asap.

 

Yeah, some people choose to hire a private company to drive them in and drop them off. Especially because with COVID this year, Zion was limiting the number of people on the shuttles they run and I heard through national park groups I'm in that the tickets for those were selling out really quickly. It's also nice to be able to have a definite pick-up time with a private retailer.

I have only taken the Zion-run shuttle bus and never a private one. But I am going to assume they would probably be smaller (I am picturing more like a 15 person van or something?), so I have to imagine the other people on that shuttle with her and/or the driver would remember her.

Even some of the "less scary" trails than Angels Landing, like hiking up the Middle Emerald pool, has some drop offs. In fact the most falling deaths in Zion isn't from Angels, but rather from that Emerald Pools trail and now there is a chain put up on part of it where people would go over. I know this from my own personal experience of hiking it a few years ago. So I am wondering if she ran into trouble like that on a trail. Got too close to an edge for a photo op or something, no one was around so no one saw her go over.

I will say though that Zion is usually SLAMMED with people. We were never alone on any of the trails we hiked. But I suppose it could be possible to be alone for a minute or two until another hiking group passed by.

 

The picture is labeled Angels Landing, so I'm assuming that that's the Grotto area visitor parking which is supposed to be close to the Angels Landing trailhead. My point was that under the current regime, personal vehicles aren't allowed to drive that far into the park. The visitor center is much more to the south (map at the link). Also, if she parked at the Grotto parking, she wouldn't need to wait for a shuttle to pick her up (as it was reported) and take her to her car.

https://www.nps.gov/zion/planyourvisit/upload/July-1-2020-InfoSheet_a.pdf