Susanna DeForest, of Collegeville, Pennsylvania, was pronounced dead on Friday, August 18, after a Colorado rescue team found her following an alert they received about a ‘grievously ill hiker’ on the Conundrum Creek Trail around 10:45 PM on Thursday, August 17.
According to Pitkin County Sheriff’s Deputy Anthony Todaro, DeForest was hiking with three of her friends at the Conundrum Creek Trail in Colorado when she began to feel light-headed and started vomiting.
Reports indicate that DeForest’s friends set up a tent in an effort to get DeForest out of the hea. Deputy Todaro said two of the girls left the scene around 8:30 PM on the 18th to seek help. They did not reach emergency officials until two hours after leaving the camp.
When Mountain Rescue Aspen arrived to the scene, they attempted to revive DeForest while awaiting the helicopter to transport her to the hospital.
The exact cause of DeForest’s death remains unknown at this time.
via Aspen Times:
Todaro said the foursome left a bit late in the afternoon but had the proper gear, water and food and were prepared to spend the night at the hot springs and hike out the next day. However, during the hike up, the 20-year-old woman became nauseated and began vomiting, so they set up a tent, put her inside and tried to make her comfortable, he said.
In the meantime, two of the women hiked out to get help, leaving the third with DeForest, Todaro said. The two women left the other two about 8:30 p.m. and were able to notify emergency dispatchers about 10:45 p.m., according to Todaro and a Sheriff’s Office statement.
Volunteers with Mountain Rescue Aspen were dispatched into the field and a helicopter was dispatched to pick up DeForest, he said. But when the helicopter arrived in the area it wasn’t able to land, which may have been because of weather issues, Todaro said. By the time another helicopter returned just before 5 a.m., DeForest was dead, he said.
DeForest had no known previous medical issues and Pitkin County Deputy Coroner Eric Hansen said Sunday the cause of death is still under investigation.
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