Missing hiker waves down rescuers using what she had — her pants, Montana officials say
A woman was rescued after going missing in the Montana wilderness while camping with her husband, according to officials.
Gloria Albright was found Aug. 16 after being reported missing three days earlier in the Little Belt Mountains, the Wheatland County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. Albright was discovered by Forest Service Law Enforcement Officer Shawn Tripp around 3 miles from where she was last seen, officials said.
Albright told authorities that she didn’t want to continue on a rough trail that she and her husband were walking on, exited and traveled on the Jeep Trail until she ended up in a meadow. She said she made a wrong turn that was in the opposite direction of Jellison Campground, where she and her husband were camping, and went southwest until the trail ended, according to officials.
Albright said she fell and injured a knee and then continued downhill, spending the next two days deprived of water and sleep and becoming “delusional,” according to authorities. She also started seeing things that didn’t exist, including a house, a camp trailer and trails with markers.
The day before she was found, Albright saw a search helicopter flying overhead, took off her pants and put them on a stick to try to get their attention, officials said. Albright thought to herself, “What if they were to land before I got my pants on?”
She also tried to make a “HELP” sign with wood and laid in the grass, hoping that a helicopter would find her, according to authorities. Albright heard an engine and saw a “very large man on a four-wheeler,” before Tripp found her, officials said.
Albright told authorities that if she had advice to hikers, it would be, “Don’t make bad decisions, don’t get off of the trail, know the country you are in and understand directions by the sun and the moon,” officials said.
This story was originally published August 23, 2021 at 10:06 AM with the headline "Missing hiker waves down rescuers using what she had — her pants, Montana officials say."