Remains Of Hiker Who Went Missing 2 Years Ago In North Cascades Found

KEY POINTS

Rachel Lakoduk of Moses Lake disappeared on Oct. 17, 2019
She was hiking to the Hidden Lake Trail when she went missing
The weather had turned bad during her hike, leaving her trapped

The remains of a 28-year-old Washington hiker, who went missing in the North Cascade mountain range two years ago, have been recovered by the search and rescue personnel.

Rachel Lakoduk of Moses Lake, who disappeared on Oct. 17, 2019, while hiking to the Hidden Lake Trail to celebrate her birthday, never made it to the lookout cabin on the trail, reported CBS News.

Lakoduk's mother, Elizabeth Tripp, posted on Facebook Monday that the search team recovered her bones and backpack over the weekend.

"Our beloved Rachel's remains arrived off the mountain yesterday," her post read. "My heart is both thankful and broken. Thankful for all the courageous people who searched for Rachel for the past two years. Thankful for the outpouring of love from people around the world. Thankful for the prayers sent up for us. Thankful that I was able to kiss my baby’s remains goodbye. "Sometimes there are just no words for a broken heart," she added.

See posts, photos and more on Facebook.

On the day she went missing, Lakoduk had told her family that she planned to hike the Hidden Lake Trail to a lookout cabin and spend the night celebrating her birthday. However, when the family failed to hear from her the next day, they contacted the National Park Service authorities.

A search operation was launched immediately, following which Lakoduk's vehicle was found at the trailhead. The Skagit County Sheriff's Office said it didn't appear that she had made it to the lookout tower.

According to the officials, the weather turned bad while she was hiking, leaving her unable to make it off the mountain. The search team too were forced to turn back due to weather conditions and avalanche danger.

The family had been conducting recovery operations for the last two years and had even put up a GoFundMe page to help support the search.

The cabin Lakoduk is at an elevation of 6,800 feet of the Hidden Lake Peak. The trail that begins in cool forests evolves into vast, open meadows, then rocky slopes before ending at a steep rocky pinnacle with the fire lookout on top.

Earlier this month, a Southern California man who went missing in July during a hike in Sequoia National Forest was found dead by the authorities.