EBS STAFF
BOZEMAN – The 17-year-old girl from Kansas who was reported missing yesterday from the Big Horn Trailhead area south of Big Sky has been located.
Grace Alexandra Hoskins was reported to be possibly suicidal and had last been seen at approximately 11 a.m. yesterday wearing a blue hoodie, running shorts and socks with no shoes.
Several units from Gallatin County responded with ground and aerial searches, including Big Sky Search and Rescue, K-9 dog teams, a helicopter/alpine team, Big Sky Fire Department and an Air Methods helicopter from West Yellowstone. Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office deputies and family members contacted Hoskins’ friends and other family member to determine if the missing juvenile had reached out to them.
At approximately 8 p.m., one of Hoskins’ friends contacted deputies to inform them that he’d been in communication with her and provided contact information for her.
Deputies got into contact with Hoskins and determined her location to be in the Emigrant area south of Livingston. A Park County deputy responded and retrieved the juvenile safely. She was then transported to a Gallatin County deputy and eventually returned to her family back in the Big Sky area.
Galatin County Sheriff Brian Gootkin thanked the agencies and volunteers who participated in the search in a press release, including staff at 320 Guest Ranch. “Search and Rescue operations often take turns in directions not first anticipated and it is through cooperation and a team effort by many that these incidents result in a positive outcome,” the release said.
