The search is on for 23-year-old a graduate student at Montana State University who planned to hike five peaks that were over 12,000 feet in the Beartooth Mountains. Tatum “Tate” Morell camped at Shadow Lake near the Wyoming/Montana border on Thursday, July 1st and contacted her mother via an InReach satellite communicator that evening. It is believed that she left her tent Friday and has not returned.
Search teams are out looking and are asking the public to keep vigilant. Tatum “Tate” Morell has brown hair and brown eyes and may have been wearing a red jacket with a blue daypack. Anyone who may have seen Morell or has information is asked to contact the Carbon County Montana Sheriff’s Office at (406) 446-1234.
Carbon County Sheriff’s Office – Montana
Rescue teams from around Montana and Wyoming join in search for missing hiker Tatum Morell
Red Lodge Fire Rescue Search and Rescue (SAR) and the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office have been joined by Yellowsone County Sheriff, Gallatin County SAR, Big Horn County SAR, Park County, WY SAR, US Forest Service, three search dog teams, and three helicopters to continue the intensive search for 23 year old Tatum “Tate” Morell. The avid hiker planned to hike 5 peaks over 12000’ in the West Fork of Rock Creek drainage. She camped at Shadow Lake on Thursday, July 1 and contacted her mother via an InReach satellite communicator that evening. It is believed that she left her tent Friday and has not returned.
Today, ground teams will search the routes she may have taken to climb the peaks in the area with a focus on Sundance, Bowback, Castle and Whitetail Mountains. These routes are high elevation and relatively technical with car-sized boulders, scree and snowfields. Dog teams will be searching the area around her camp.
Helicopter crews from the National Guard and Two Bear Air searched the area Sunday night though Tuesday evening using visual, infrared camera, cell phone tracking and Recco tracking while ground crews searched the area around her camp and the surrounding lakes.
Tatum is an engineering graduate student at Montana State University-Bozeman and is originally from Idaho. This was her first trip to the Beartooths. She is an experienced hiker who explores terrain like this often and recently accomplished a similar trip in Gallatin County climbing 5 peaks in 5 days. Carbon County Sheriff Josh McQuillan asks that if you may have seen Tate recently or have any information about her plans that you call the sheriff’s office at 406-446-1234.
Carbon Alert Carbon County Sheriff’s Office – Montana Custer Gallatin National Forest Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness Foundation
