COLUMBUS – Deep in the Wyoming wilderness, nine miles from the nearest highway, hunting guide Nate Suter was clearing a trail with another guide Wednesday afternoon when something white caught his eye on a high ridge.
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Suter and Colton Cook were cutting downed timber on the trail to a remote outpost camp, in preparation for the fall hunting season in the rugged region of Wyoming known as the Gros Ventre Wilderness.
The guides agreed that the white figure descending a ridge about three-quarters of a mile away was a person on foot, not an animal. That was unusual.
“Most of the stuff up there is done on horseback,” Suter, 20, said. “I’ve been going up there for years, and I’ve never seen anybody (backpacking) up there. They were in a real nasty spot.”
The chance sighting by the guides led to Thursday’s safe rescue of three sisters — two of them from central Ohio — who became lost during a backpacking trip.
Megan, Erin, and Kelsi Andrews-Sharer were found in a remote area known as the upper Horse Creek drainage in the Bridger-Teton National Forest about 11:00 a.m. Thursday, Eastern Standard Time.
A family blog post Thursday afternoon showed the sisters grinning widely with their father, standing in front of a helicopter.
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“All three girls, mom, and dad are reunited together in Jackson,” the post read. “We are all so happy that this story had a happy ending, and the support, prayers, and love from so many have helped get through these scary few days.”