Authorities have recovered the body of Meghan Rouns, a 27-year-old woman who mysteriously disappeared while horseback riding along the McMaster Hills trail in Montana last week, via Daily Mail. Rouns went missing after setting off with her horse on Friday afternoon, about 15 miles from Downtown Helena.
Search teams initially found Rouns’s hat, phone, and horse, which appeared to have been in the Missouri River. However, her remains were not immediately located. According to officials, Rouns’s horse was known to dislike water, and Rouns herself could not swim.
Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo C. Dutton told The Independent that he believed a strong gust of wind likely knocked Rouns off her horse as she was riding near the riverbank, causing her to fall into the water. On Tuesday, divers recovered her body from the river.
“It is with great sadness we report that Meghan was located by our search and rescue divers around 3:40 p.m.,” the sheriff’s office announced in a statement. “She is deceased.” Rouns’s body was found submerged in 11 feet of water, approximately 100 feet from the shore. Officials plan to transport her remains to a crime lab in Missoula to determine the cause and manner of death, though foul play is not currently suspected, according to Dutton.
Dutton also stated that Rouns did not have any known medical conditions that might have prompted an emergency, and authorities do not believe her death was a suicide. “To Meghan’s family, we extend our condolences and deepest sympathy,” the statement added.
Rouns, an experienced equestrian, was expected to return from her ride around 6 p.m. on Friday. When she failed to come back, her father reported her missing two hours later. A search operation commenced at 9 p.m. and continued until 4 a.m. the next morning. Upon finding her horse, officials discovered a GPS tracker confirming it had been in the river, prompting search teams to focus their efforts in and around the water.
Rescue teams deployed helicopters, drones, cadaver dogs, and hikers to comb the area for any signs of Rouns. “It’s something that is extraordinary that happened to her that caused us to be in this search for her,” Sheriff Dutton explained.
The investigation is ongoing, as officials seek to provide answers to Rouns’s family and loved ones during this tragic time.