Town Crier “Briefs from the Region” (2) – 7/12/21
A hiker is presumed to be dead after disappearing in the Beartooth Mountains for over a week. Tatum Morell, a 23-year-old Montana State University graduate student, was last heard from on July 1 before a trip into the mountain range to camp by herself, and was expected to return July 5, according to her family. She is an experienced hiker who was planning to hike five peaks in five days, a feat she had completed earlier last month in the Gallatin Mountains. Red Lodge Fire Rescue said on Saturday that they were pulling back search efforts and believe she was involved in an accident that rendered her unable to access her inReach device. “Tate was a fiercely independent, adventurous soul who loved the mountains,” her family said in a statement. “We find some solace in knowing she passed in a place she loved.”
