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*

[marloweclover]

Around here -- adjacent state -- our lakes and rivers aren't at the same size all year, pretty dramatically. Snowmelt season vs. end of summer. Right now, I could be roaming the shoreline of the river, perfectly dry, and on All Trails I'd look like I was so far out I had to be kayaking or swimming. Same spot in May, I'd be in over my head. I don't know if that's the case there, but it's possible on the app. I'm sure the locals there can tell the difference from the map though.

 

[Missing Susan]

To me the left side of the trail ride down to the water looks controlled and right before entering the water it looks like the horse balked, stepped back and then went in. The right side near the Spring Gulch Lower looks like it could be the horse without a rider, pacing, backtracking and trying to find their way. The path in the water could be a horse stumbling around. I wonder how deep the water is in that area?
All JMO.

On the aerial image you can sort of see visible bottom extending a bit out away from the bank. The spot is where a gully has been dumping soil into a miniature alluvial fan along the bank. Its possible that the track is accurate and they are walking in a shallow spot of the reservoir. I tried a fishing app to see a depth chart of the water there. Failed

In addition to the track, the app is recording time elapsed and elevation. The phone was wandering around at the same elevation for quite some time and distance. The track shows .3 miles walking around in the lake, then .4 miles wandering on the bank before jumping up to the parking lot location

The app isnt showing me timestamps, which would be helpful

MRs other ride was in April (colder) and the track doesnt extend into the water. Hers were the only horseback riding tracks. Perhaps some of the hikers that posted tracks could be seen if they were wading into the reservoir during their visits down there

 

[KentuckyFilly79]

Is there a possibility that they were walking around in the shallow and the horse stepped off into a deep spot that neither horse nor Meghan was aware of and then the horse panicked dumping her in the process?

 

[MelmothTheLost]

What condition were the stirrups in (i.e. did they look like a rider was hung up in them and drug for a ways?)?

Are Western saddles designed in such a way as to make dragging likely? With the standard saddles used in the UK the stirrup hangs from a straight open bar and immediately detaches from the saddle if the rider comes off.

 

[Chimera]

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

He said they have had assistance from the Montana Air National Guard, Mercy Flight from Great Falls, and Malmstrom Air Force Base.
They also had drones from the Helena police and fire departments and IFlyBigSky, Elkhorn Search and Rescue out of Jefferson County, True North K9 search dogs and Elk Horn search dogs. He said Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management are helping where they can.

Dutton said they would likely halt the search about 10 p.m. Sunday, unless Rouns was found earlier.
"If we don't find her today we will be back tomorrow," he said.
Rbm.
Two sets of canine units.

Plus the other sources they've utilized, which has been a lot.
I am thinking an accident and she may be in the water ?
Omo.

Sorry for Meghan's worried loved ones !

 

[bestill]

Nothing much new here. It's from late yesterday. A couple of small tidbits...

The Sheriff said that it's possible that she is in the river....not necessarily, but possible.

Her snapchat image was of her with the river in the background.

Her family, including her husband and father, and friends were gathered in the parking lot near the command center. Her father was the family spokesperson.

There was no comment about who found the horse or specifically where. It was just stated that it was found "early Saturday".

On the aerial image you can sort of see visible bottom extending a bit out away from the bank. The spot is where a gully has been dumping soil into a miniature alluvial fan along the bank. Its possible that the track is accurate and they are walking in a shallow spot of the reservoir. I tried a fishing app to see a depth chart of the water there. Failed

In addition to the track, the app is recording time elapsed and elevation. The phone was wandering around at the same elevation for quite some time and distance. The track shows .3 miles walking around in the lake, then .4 miles wandering on the bank before jumping up to the parking lot location

The app isnt showing me timestamps, which would be helpful

MRs other ride was in April (colder) and the track doesnt extend into the water. Hers were the only horseback riding tracks. Perhaps some of the hikers that posted tracks could be seen if they were wading into the reservoir during their visits down there

Thank you both for answering me

 

[Megnut]

I zoomed in closer on her activity track on AllTrails from a couple of days ago (thanks for finding that) and this doesn't look good.

View attachment 536132

Is there a possibility that they were walking around in the shallow and the horse stepped off into a deep spot that neither horse nor Meghan was aware of and then the horse panicked dumping her in the process?

If the map is accurate, it looks like they entered the water in a controlled fashion, including the initial loop. If the horse did step off an underwater ledge, they could immediately have been in trouble both of them, especially if she was still tethered. Free of each other, they might have been able to save thineself, recover and reach the shore safely. Now, if that chaos was causes by wild life that forced them into the water and followed them, that too could account for what we see. There's a reason the horse (with the phone) didn't swim directly back to shore and IMO that's key to what happened here. Horse was either fighting against a foe or fighting against the rider, both of them flailing.

Once the horse broke free, it was able to make it back to shore and found a way back to civilization...

Is there a way for laypeople to know how much time elapsed in the water? If the horse was thrashing, it might have led to a drowning, held under too long, or all that time, Meghan could face been struggling to separate herself.

The waiting has to be pure agony.

 Jmo

 

[whitelilac]

If she is in the water, she will likely surface in the next couple of days. It's been 3 days now. It's heartbreaking, I feel so sad for her family. All she wanted to do was go for a nice ride, something she likely did often.

 

[KentuckyFilly79]

Are Western saddles designed in such a way as to make dragging likely? With the standard saddles used in the UK the stirrup hangs from a straight open bar and immediately detaches from the saddle if the rider comes off.

I wouldn't say they are designed in a way to make dragging MORE likely, but the stirrups tend to be a bit more "open" (for lack of a better term) then english style stirrups. English style stirrups also seem to offer more safety release type stirrups then Western riding.

 

[Missing Susan]

If the map is accurate, it looks like they entered the water in a controlled fashion, including the initial loop. If the horse did step off an underwater ledge, they could immediately have been in trouble both of them, especially if she was still tethered. Free of each other, they might have been able to save thineself, recover and reach the shore safely. Now, if that chaos was causes by wild life that forced them into the water and followed them, that too could account for what we see. There's a reason the horse (with the phone) didn't swim directly back to shore and IMO that's key to what happened here. Horse was either fighting against a foe or fighting against the rider, both of them flailing.

Once the horse broke free, it was able to make it back to shore and found a way back to civilization...

Is there a way for laypeople to know how much time elapsed in the water? If the horse was thrashing, it might have led to a drowning, held under too long, or all that time, Meghan could face been struggling to separate herself.

The waiting has to be pure agony.

 Jmo

I'm going to assume for the moment the track is correct. Whether the track location is exposed bank or shallow water isnt known to us. The lake is a dammed reservoir which might make the water level not fluctuate that much? Either way there should be visible hoofprints that the pair was out there or not.

Almost all of the loops shown are circling to the left. Loop after loop. Horses are mounted and dismounted from the left side. Unruly horses are turned in tight circles to regain control of them. This horse was held in a left spiral for an extended timeframe.

 

[KentuckyFilly79]

Almost all of the loops shown are circling to the left. Loop after loop. Horses are mounted and dismounted from the left side. Unruly horses are turned in tight circles to regain control of them. This horse was held in a left spiral for an extended timeframe.

This is a good observation. Was she turning him/her to regain control or had she lost her balance and was hanging off the left side trying to pull herself back up? I would REALLY be interested to know the condition of the horse and tack when found...

 

[flashy09]

I wouldn't say they are designed in a way to make dragging MORE likely, but the stirrups tend to be a bit more "open" (for lack of a better term) then english style stirrups. English style stirrups also seem to offer more safety release type stirrups then Western riding.

What makes me sad...if a head injury did happen....is the lack of helmet wearing in the Western riding community. I wish it would catch on.

 

[Megnut]

I'm going to assume for the moment the track is correct. Whether the track location is exposed bank or shallow water isnt known to us. The lake is a dammed reservoir which might make the water level not fluctuate that much? Either way there should be visible hoofprints that the pair was out there or not.

Almost all of the loops shown are circling to the left. Loop after loop. Horses are mounted and dismounted from the left side. Unruly horses are turned in tight circles to regain control of them. This horse was held in a left spiral for an extended timeframe.

In picturing a runaway motorboat, circling around a displaced driver (where the boat snd propellor become a deadly threat to that driver), I wonder if her position relative to the horse pulled it into that tight spiral to the left because that's the side she may have fallen. Whether she was panicked, the horse must have been. She either held on as long as she could or was entangled into that hold released.

Whether it was minutes or seconds, it had to be terrifying for both. If she was tangled up in the saddle, absolute frenzy. The power of the horse, like a bucking bronco, only half underwater. Was she trying to regain control of the horse/situation? Surely the horse was.
If this becomes a recovery, it would appear that she may have used the last of her strength to save her horse.

JMO

 

[NervousNellie]

New info this article from The US Sun

Missing woman's phone & horse found - cops reveal she sent photo after vanishing

THE search for a 27-year-old woman who went missing while horseback riding has intensified after deputies located her horse and cell phone. Meghan Rouns was last seen leaving her home in Helena, Mo…

www.the-sun.com

A snippet (Bold by me):

Lewis and County Sheriff Leo Dutton told The U.S. Sun a search crew located Rouns' horse up the hill from Hauser Lake on Saturday.

Rouns' cell phone and a tracker were also uncovered in a saddle bag.

Dutton told The U.S. Sun that search efforts are being prioritized on the lake, where they believe Rouns may have fallen due to strong winds reported in the area on October 4.

"We believe something happened that spooked the horse to get it into the waters. We just don't know what yet," Dutton told The U.S. Sun.

The sheriff said investigators have ruled out foul play as a possible factor in Rouns' disappearance.

"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," Willy Wegner, the operations lieutenant of Lewis and Clark County Search and Rescue, told NBC affiliate KTVH-TV.

 

[Herat]

I suppose it's time to ask if LE has checked the phone and vehicle electronic records of the husband.

 

[whitelilac]

New info this article from The US Sun

Missing woman's phone & horse found - cops reveal she sent photo after vanishing

THE search for a 27-year-old woman who went missing while horseback riding has intensified after deputies located her horse and cell phone. Meghan Rouns was last seen leaving her home in Helena, Mo…

www.the-sun.com

A snippet (Bold by me):

Lewis and County Sheriff Leo Dutton told The U.S. Sun a search crew located Rouns' horse up the hill from Hauser Lake on Saturday.

Rouns' cell phone and a tracker were also uncovered in a saddle bag.

Dutton told The U.S. Sun that search efforts are being prioritized on the lake, where they believe Rouns may have fallen due to strong winds reported in the area on October 4.

"We believe something happened that spooked the horse to get it into the waters. We just don't know what yet," Dutton told The U.S. Sun.

The sheriff said investigators have ruled out foul play as a possible factor in Rouns' disappearance.

"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," Willy Wegner, the operations lieutenant of Lewis and Clark County Search and Rescue, told NBC affiliate KTVH-TV.

"...Rouns may have fallen due to strong winds reported in the area on October 4."
strong winds? this is new.
trying to picture how a strong wind could precipitate a fall.
They both fell in the water, from the shore possibly, as opposed to being in the water on purpose to cool off?

 

[NervousNellie]

"...Rouns may have fallen due to strong winds reported in the area on October 4."
strong winds? this is new.
trying to picture how a strong wind could precipitate a fall.
They both fell in the water, from the shore possibly, as opposed to being in the water on purpose to cool off?

According to a "past weather" website, there were significant wind gusts.

Belgrade, MT Weather History | Weather Underground

 

[Megnut]

"...Rouns may have fallen due to strong winds reported in the area on October 4."
strong winds? this is new.
trying to picture how a strong wind could precipitate a fall.
They both fell in the water, from the shore possibly, as opposed to being in the water on purpose to cool off?

I don't know the area or elevation but one misstep, bracing against a harsh gale, on a narrow crag could plummet them into the water, horse and rider entrapped, utter chaos until the horse could break free. If she wasn't injured by the fall, the horse thrashing in water and herself needing air, virtually unsurvivable.

If it's a reservoir there may well be crevices and outcroppings on which to get hung up.

Of course I want for a different outcome, but all signs indicate an accidental drowning, probably coupled with an injury.

Horse did good.

Recorded all of it, went for help.

JMO

 

[bestill]

According to a "past weather" website, there were significant wind gusts.

Belgrade, MT Weather History | Weather Underground

Ugh,45 to 50 mph gusts. That would definitely spook a horse.

 

[Boots38]

I suppose it's time to ask if LE has checked the phone and vehicle electronic records of the husband.

Why would they need to check her husbands stuff?