A who spent the night in Colorado's backcountry and nearly ran out of life-saving medication says she panicked when she was charged by a bear and became lost. According to , the out-of-state woman was hiking at Zapata Falls in the San Luis Valley on August 12 with a partner. She wanted to continue hiking beyond the falls, but her partner did not feel comfortable and stayed behind.
After an unspecified amount of time, the partner contacted and reported the woman as overdue. "The hiker's phone and insulin pump both had depleted batteries and were unable to be reached remotely," reports the AVSAR, who describe the woman as fairly athletic, "but not experienced enough or prepared to spend a night in the wilderness." The woman's medical condition in addition to the rugged terrain, threat of impending weather and her choice of clothing – she was dressed in shorts, a halter top, a red hoodie and carrying only a small – an immediate and extensive response was enacted.
Search teams scoured the area on foot and by drone until nightfall, but the only potential clue they uncovered was "a peculiarly behaving bear in the vicinity of the subject's last known location," which they monitored until it got dark. Once dark conditions made searching unfeasible, crews continued their work back at base using cell phone forensics, despite the odds being stacked against the ill-equipped hiker. "At times the daunting situational elements made the possibility of a positive outcome unrealistic," wri.