(WWJ) - The body of a traveling nurse from Michigan who disappeared while on a hike in California over two weeks ago was found after extensive search efforts.
According to the Calaveras County Sheriff's Office, 66-year-old Ann Herford of Michigan was located deceased around 9 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 29. She was last seen on the Arnold Rim Trail, roughly 100 miles southeast of Sacramento, Calif., on Wednesday, Nov. 15.
Exhaustive search efforts by numerous agencies and volunteers from the air and on the ground held out hope of finding Herford as they combed through dense forest of tall trees, thick manzanita, and mountainous terrain.
"As part of this continuing search effort, an extremely steep and dense section of the search area located north of San Antonio Creek and south of Forest Road 5N56 was canvassed," deputies said in a Facebook update on the case. "At approximately 9:00 am on [Thursday], Ann Marie was located deceased within this search segment."
Deputies said her body was found on a 35-degree sloped hillside beneath heavy tree canopy and dense foliage, north of where her vehicle was originally parked on November 12th and not within the RIM trail system.
Due to the terrain, a California Highway Patrol aircraft was called in to extricate the body.
Authorities said in an earlier press release that Herford had mentioned hiking during breakfast with a friend on Nov. 11 and had been staying alone at a Best Western hotel.
Herford reported missing after she never showed up for work at Adventist Health in Sonora. Deputies said her vehicle was later located near the Arnold Rim trailhead on Wednesday, Nov. 16.
The 66-year-old traveling nurse was reported to be from Michigan with family still living in the state by CBS Sacramento.
The sheriff's office said almost 80 people searched for Herford on Friday, Nov. 17, along with three K9 teams, two drones and nine e-bikes.
Authorities were concerned about looming weather conditions and have requested additional help in search efforts on the weekend after she was reported missing, including 80 searchers from the California Office of Emergency Services and six canine teams.
"Regardless of the weather coming in, we're trying as hard as we can to find her," Lieutenant Greg Stark told CBS Sacramento. "The weather will complicate things and may reduce the visible footprints out there."
The sheriff's department said it was extremely greatly for all the teams involved in the massive search operation, which included:
• Air National Guard
• Amador County Sheriff’s SAR
• Bay Area Mountain Rescue Unit (BAMRU)
• California Office of Emergency Services (Overhead and Air Resources)
• Calaveras County Volunteer Search and Rescue
• Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office
• Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office Volunteer Unit
• California Highway Patrol
• California Office of Emergency Services SAR
• California Rescue Dog Association/CARDA's
• Contra Costa County Sheriff’s SAR
• Ebbetts Pass Moose Lodge 1123
• Forensic resources coordinated by the California Office of Emergency Services
• Hazel Fischer Elementary School
• Marin County Sheriff’s SAR (Including Unmanned Aerial Systems - UAS)
• Merced County Sheriff’s SAR
• Nevada County Sheriff’s SAR
• Placer County Sheriff’s SAR
• San Mateo County Sheriff’s SAR
• Santa Clara County Sheriff’s SAR
• Tuolumne County Sheriff’s SAR
• United States Army Aircraft
• Yolo County Sheriff’s SAR
• Calaveras County District Attorney Investigators