PUEBLO COUNTY, Colo. – Six Texas hikers, including five juveniles, are recovering after they were lost on a Colorado mountain for more than 24 hours.
According to the Pueblo County (Colorado) Sheriff’s Office, the hikers began their trek on Friday, May 30, near Graneros Creek, which is located approximately 150 miles south of Denver.
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After veering off the trail, deputies said the group became “disoriented” and were “unable to find their way back.”
At approximately 7:30 p.m. Friday, the hikers reached out to the sheriff’s office and told deputies they were lost. The Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Services Division’s volunteer Search and Rescue team was dispatched to begin its search for the hikers.
One member of the county’s search and rescue team suffered non-life-threatening injuries on Friday night, deputies said.
On the following Saturday morning, the sheriff’s office said it dispatched a second volunteer search and rescue team. Another rescue team from neighboring Custer County also joined the Pueblo County search.
While a Flight for Life helicopter located the hikers and the injured Pueblo County rescue team member, deputies said the “rugged terrain” did not allow for a safe rescue or extraction for the hikers and rescue member from Greenhorn Mountain. The mountain, which is considered the highest point in the Wet Mountains of southern Colorado, has an estimated elevation of more than 12,000 feet.
According to a news release, at approximately 3:30 p.m. Saturday, a Colorado National Guard helicopter extracted the Pueblo County volunteer search and rescue member and took them to a nearby high school, where they were then transported to a hospital for further treatment.
Deputies said the Custer County search team located four of the six hikers on foot. More than an hour later, the other two hikers were also found attempting to find the hiking trail again. All six hikers were then taken to a nearby command post, the news release states.
None of the hikers were injured, the sheriff’s office said.
“This was a very long, difficult, and dangerous operation, and we are thankful for the positive outcome,” Pueblo County Sheriff David J. Lucero said in a news release. “Everyone was safely rescued, and although one of our SAR (search and rescue) members was injured, we are grateful no one suffered serious harm.”
KSAT reached out to the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office for more information on the hikers, including where the hikers are from in Texas, but the office has yet to respond to the station’s request.