Rachel Lakoduk missing Moses Lake hiker yet to be accounted for, nearly a week after the Washington State woman set out hiking along Hidden Lake Trail.
A Washington state woman has been missing for nearly a week after failing to return from an overnight hike, authorities said.
Rachel Lakoduk, 28, of Moses Lake has not been seen since she headed out Thursday on Hidden Lake Trail to a popular lookout cabin in Skagit County, KOMO News reported.
‘She was trying to hike seven miles to a lookout point,’ her sister, Haley Anderson, told the outlet.
Lakoduk was supposed to meet up with a friend, only to never show up. She’d been planning on spending the night at the cabin King5 reported. Of note, the missing woman’s car was found at the base of the trail head.
The trailhead is about 15 miles east of Marblemount, near Mount Baker National Park.
Search efforts have been hampered by recent snow and fog in the area received since she disappeared, officials said.
The terrain is steep and rugged. The first rescue crew got to about 6,000 feet on Saturday before fears of an avalanche turned them back.
‘It’s a rollercoaster of emotions and uncertainty. The odds of finding Rachel are slim.’
Rescue teams finally reached the lookout on Tuesday but were unable to locate the missing woman, with officials saying, ‘it didn’t look like she got there.’
‘It didn’t look like she had been there at all,’ said Skagit County Undersheriff Chad Clark.
Search teams had hoped to find the missing Moses Lake hiker on the presumption she’d been waiting out the recent snow storm.
‘We learned that our sweet Rachel never arrived at the outlook tower,’ the missing hiker’s mother, Elizabeth Tripp, wrote on Facebook earlier in the week. ‘We are shocked beyond belief, appreciate everyone’s prayers, and now please allow us patience & understanding as we process through this difficult time.’
Come Wednesday, Lakoduk’s mom posted, ‘3 canine packs, a 15 man crew on the ground, and a helicopter search with rangers who know the terrain. It’s a rollercoaster of emotions and uncertainty. The odds of finding Rachel alive are slim, but the rangers told us this morning that this is still a search and RESCUE effort. My heart & head is spinning.
Clark said authorities are not giving up hope, adding a Navy helicopter and more search teams will be on the trail looking for any sign of life.
