Hiker's Body Found in Idaho National Monument

The body of a missing hiker was found yesterday in Idaho’s Craters of the Moon National Monument. Dr. Jo Elliott-Blakeslee, 63, was found nearly a month after she was reported missing with her friend, Amy Linkert, reports ABC News.

The two women went missing on September 24, just days before the government shutdown. Authorities found the duo’s car with their purses, cell phones, and dogs inside soon after they were reported missing. Linkert’s body was found on September 25, but the search for Elliott-Blakeslee was hindered by the government shutdown.

Although the shutdown on October 1 prevented rangers from using government resources like helicopters and dogs, ten furloughed Park Service rangers continued the search on foot, according to ABC News. 

Yesterday, park rangers in a helicopter found Elliott-Blakeslee’s body only a mile from where Linkert’s body was found a month earlier. Elliott-Blakeslee’s cause of death has yet to be determined according to Rueters.