MT MT - Meghan Rouns, 27, horseback riding, horse found, phone found in saddlebag, McMaster Hills Rec Area, NE of Helena, 4 Oct 2024 *Active Search*

[CrimeDawg123]

I don't think this is going to end well.

I agree. The terrain doesn't look that difficult to traverse with a lot of open spaces. If she were in any way capable, it seems she'd be able to get herself to a location were she could be found.

 

[bestill]

I agree. The terrain doesn't look that difficult to traverse with a lot of open spaces. If she were in any way capable, it seems she'd be able to get herself to a location were she could be found.

She was a skilled rider too. She did barrel racing according to her facebook pics. She could have gotten seriously injured in a fall or startled horse. I had a horse that "dropped" me more than once, one time because sprinklers went off on a golf course, there's very few trails where I live so we had to trail ride on the side of the road to get to them.

I am wondering if she has an fitbit or apple watch? I didn't see any in the few photos I looked at.

 

[Megnut]

Does anyone know whether the horse was rescued or the horse found people? If she was injured, she could have sent the horse off.

It's a good sign IMO they're pursuing data from her phone. I hope that means they have full access to the phone, been able to unlock it, etc. If they have to get it from the servers, those require warrants, time. Hopefully that too can be expedited due to exigenct circumstances.

If she was incapacitated by injury, she may have been unable to reach her phone. Perhaps the best she could do is urge her horse to run free. Horse, saddle, phone, no rider is going to get noticed --

Hoping her phone data (and drones and searchers and coordinated efforts) leads the rescue effort and brings her home.

JMO

 

[Snoopster]

I'm surprised they haven't found her yet. For sure there are a lot of gullies and slopes they'd have to check out, so it wouldn't be easy, but I was hoping the thermal imaging would have helped last night. Her family must be so frustrated and worried. Hopefully we'll hear good news soon and they'll find Meghan alive, but simply incapacitated or trapped.

 

[mickey2942]

This is what has also been posted on Facebook and Nextdoor.

Such a large area to search. As for wild animals, mostly they stay hidden and away from people in our area, they are usually more active at night. I hope that she is found.

 

[Knox]

On Sunday the focus was on Hauser Lake, a robotic-operated vehicle and divers were brought in a mile and half downriver from Canyon Ferry Dam.

Rouns’s cell phone GPS data maps heavy presence in the lake.

"Her horse was found just up the hill from the lake, so this has become our primary area to search from the evidence we have gathered," said Willy Wegner, the operations lieutenant of Lewis and Clark County Search and Rescue.

In addition to the evidence that has been found, search and rescue teams have been using a process of elimination method.

Search continues for woman missing northeast of Helena

Search and rescue teams, the Sheriff’s Department, and numerous volunteers continue the search for a 27-year-old woman, who went missing on Friday, October 4th.

www.ktvh.com

 

[Knox]

In addition to the heavy search presence on the water Sunday, volunteers are hiking the area to find even the smallest of clues.

Sheriff Dutton confirmed a spur found by volunteers Saturday did not belong to Meghan.

After speaking with Meghan’s parents, brother, and sister-in-law they shared their gratitude towards all the effort given by the community to find Meghan.

Search continues for woman missing northeast of Helena

Search and rescue teams, the Sheriff’s Department, and numerous volunteers continue the search for a 27-year-old woman, who went missing on Friday, October 4th.

www.ktvh.com

 

[Snoopster]

Come on! She's there somewhere!
Where are you Meghan?

I really feel that she is so close to the searchers. Please let them find her!

 

[Knox]

Search continues in McMaster Hills Recreation Area for missing Helena woman

The father of Meghan Rouns said she has not returned home from a horseback ride in the Eagle Bay area.

helenair.com

 

[azure]

I ride and train professionally so this hits close to home. I am very curious what condition her horse was found in. The most dangerous riding accidents are rotational falls, where the horse flips and falls on top of the rider, followed by head injuries. I wonder if her horse had any injuries, and if her saddle/tack was damaged in any way. I agree at this point if she was ambulatory or capable of shouting, she'd likely have been found-but hoping for a miracle.

 

[Snoopster]

View attachment 536003

Search continues in McMaster Hills Recreation Area for missing Helena woman

The father of Meghan Rouns said she has not returned home from a horseback ride in the Eagle Bay area.

helenair.com

The link is blocked for me, but thank you so much for sharing this great image. It really shows that terrain.

 

[Snoopster]

I ride and train professionally so this hits close to home. I am very curious what condition her horse was found in. The most dangerous riding accidents are rotational falls, where the horse flips and falls on top of the rider, followed by head injuries. I wonder if her horse had any injuries, and if her saddle/tack was damaged in any way. I agree at this point if she was ambulatory or capable of shouting, she'd likely have been found-but hoping for a miracle.

Maybe you can post on the FB site (i.e. LE FB page) and pose your question about the condition of the horse. Your type of knowledge would be valuable in this case.

 

[azure]

Maybe you can post on the FB site (i.e. LE FB page) and pose your question about the condition of the horse. Your type of knowledge would be valuable in this case.

Sadly, as with many cases, social media is filled with drama. But I know several cowboys in Montana myself and I'm sure they have lots of knowledgeable horsewomen and men on the ground!

Incidentally, the black horse she is often seen with in photos is a mustang, you can tell by the freeze brand on its neck. If that was the one she was riding, they're generally very surefooted and sensible. But anything can happen out in the open on a horse.

 

[TristanP]

I was hoping she’d be found today. Sounds like there is amazing community support and help. I’m hoping she is still alive and can be saved.

 

[mickey2942]

I know that they have several drones, that can be used in the area to find heat spots, geo thermal. Surprised that hasn't turned up anything yet. They use those often here for SAR.

 

[whitelilac]

The lake?
I have no idea of the wildlife there. Could she have run into the lake to escape an animal?

 

[LadyL]

I'm really hoping for a miracle here.

 

[Dre]

Sadly, with the thermal picking up nothing, I’m worried that she did indeed endure some type of trauma or emergency and passed well before they deployed those tools

 

[georgiajean]

As a horse rider, my guess is horse spooked and she was thrown. Horses can do this 180 turn that leaves one hanging in the air where the horse used to be... Questions I have are: Was she wearing a helmet (In her photos, I only see helmet use during the barrel racing)? What condition were the stirrups in (i.e. did they look like a rider was hung up in them and drug for a ways?)? How did the horse seem (anxious, stressed out, matter of fact? How was this horse to ride?

 

[azure]

The lake?
I have no idea of the wildlife there. Could she have run into the lake to escape an animal?

I have a friend who lives and trail rides extensively nearby (she lives between Helena and Butte) and she says it's common to see bears on their rides, she's even encountered a mama bear protecting her treed cubs. She says mountain lions are more concerning and that a friend had a lion follow her for a while on a ride. I can see the horse being spooked by wildlife (even deer will do it here in the Midwest) and Meghan coming off. But I feel like if it was an animal attack, there would be evidence?

I'm also a bit confused by the search of the lake, as it seems she would be extremely unlucky to fall off, suffer mortal injury, and then end up in the lake. But the circumstances must warrant a search of the lake.