Hiker lost in Great Bear Wilderness near Glacier Park found alive after nearly a week in the woods

A hiker who was missing in the Great Bear Wilderness for more near a week has been found alive.

Madeline Connelly, 23, went for a day hike in the Great Bear Wilderness on Thursday, May 4 with her medium-sized dog, Mogi.

The missing woman was found on Wednesday morning near Spruce Creek, about five miles from her vehicle at the Bear Creek Trailhead off U.S. Highway 2.

Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry later confirmed that Connelly is “not only alive, she’s just fine.”

Connelly didn’t have a water bottle and only had a lightweight coat, Curry noted, but she and her dog were both uninjured after almost a week in the Great Bear Wilderness.

Connelly got lost while day hiking. While trying to find her way out, she inadvertently pushed farther into the wilderness. She spent nights under trees and hunkered down when it rained, Curry said.

Search crews on the ground located Connelly on Wednesday morning and called in a Two Bear Air rescue helicopter to lift her out from what Curry described as a heavily wooded area at about 11 a.m.

She was medically cleared by ambulance personnel in West Glacier, and she is now back in East Glacier with her parents and other family members. For the time being, her mixed breed dog Mogi was left in the capable hands of a Forest Service trail crew, Curry said.

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 5 p.m. Wednesday.