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Authorities have located the body of a woman who mysteriously went missing in Montana while horseback riding last week.
Meghan Rouns, 27, disappeared after setting off with her horse along the McMaster Hills trail, about 15 miles from Downtown Helena, on Friday afternoon.
Search teams located the woman’s hat, phone and horse, which looked like it had been in the Missouri River, but did not immediately find her remains. The horse did not like being in the water and Rouns could not swim.
Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo C Dutton told The Independent he believed a powerful gust of wind knocked the woman off her horse as she trotted along the river, forcing her into the water.
Divers pulled the woman’s body out of the river on Tuesday.
“It is with great sadness we report that Meghan was located by our search and rescue divers around 3:40 p.m.,” a statement released by the sheriff’s office read. “She is deceased.”
Rouns’s body was found in 11 feet of water, about 100 feet from shore. Officials will take her body to a crime lab in Missoula to determine her cause and manner of death. Foul play is not suspected at this time, Dutton said.
Rouns did not suffer from any medical conditions that would’ve prompted an emergency, and deputies do not suspect she died by suicide.
“To Meghan’s family, we extend our condolences and deepest sympathy,” the statement continued.
Rouns, an experienced equestrian, was meant to return from her ride around 6 p.m. Friday. When she did not, her father reported her missing two hours later. A search began at 9 p.m. the same day that lasted until 4 a.m. Saturday. Upon locating her horse, officials discovered a GPS tracker confirming it had been in the river.
As a result, search teams focused much of their efforts on combing through the water to try and find the 27-year-old.
Hikers scoured the area for clues, while helicopters, drones and cadaver dogs were deployed to try and find her.
“It’s something that is extraordinary that happened to her that caused us to be in this search for her,” Dutton said.
