Mexico Mexico - Kat Hammontre, 68, US citizen, Baja California, 11 April 2019

[LadyL]

there's lots of info posted on Warren's (her husband) FB page for those interested ... an explanation of exactly what happened from one of the hikers David and Warren

 

[AzPistonsGirl]

Interested but no FB account to look. Please keep us posted if there is anything that you can safely relay here.

 

[slowpoke]

Interested but no FB account to look. Please keep us posted if there is anything that you can safely relay here.

I don’t have FB either, but saw some of what LadyL might be referring to. Try putting “Kat and her dog are missing” in google.

 

[ilovechili]

[bbm]

they had three vehicles

Thank you for the info. Appreciate it!

 

[TatianaBarbie]

Her husband gave this source as local MSM about the search (has a map):

Suspenden búsqueda de estadounidense extraviada en el Cañón del Diablo

Another one:

Search continues for woman, 68, missing in Baja desert

 

[LadyL]

Interested but no FB account to look. Please keep us posted if there is anything that you can safely relay here.

just go to Kat's page and you can find Warren's from there
I'm not allowed to link his

ETA:

oh wait, you mean you don't have FB so can't look?
hm darn

 

[FlamingoLady]

Two thoughts:
1. She stopped close to the entrance of the hiking area. IMO, this means she was closer, rather than further, from her husband who was waiting in the car.
2. She was a well known blogger. I wonder if she may have blogged about something that someone took offense to?

Just brainstorming....

 

[FlamingoLady]

there's lots of info posted on Warren's (her husband) FB page for those interested ... an explanation of exactly what happened from one of the hikers David and Warren

Wow! It really sounds like she just vanished. It seems like they are pulling out all the stops to find this poor lady and her dog. Hoping for the best.

 

[GraceG]

Two thoughts:
1. She stopped close to the entrance of the hiking area. IMO, this means she was closer, rather than further, from her husband who was waiting in the car.
2. She was a well known blogger. I wonder if she may have blogged about something that someone took offense to?

Just brainstorming....

Her blog was mostly nature and local events, no politics, no drama. Good thought though but I checked it out and it's pretty tame and she doesn't post a lot.

 

[MimosaMornings]

Is there a map showing the trailhead where the vehicles were parked (where her husband was also) and Kat’s last known location by the stream on the trail path?

How far is it between these two points?

It sounds like it is a well defined trail?

 

[DAMages]

Here's a link to information about the hike which contains a link to a Google map...

Hike to the Waterfalls at Cañon del Diablo

If you go here on the regular Google Maps in satellite you can see a bit. There are also some 360 degree images taken by people along the road and in the first part of the hike to the falls.

Google Maps

 

[Elana619]

After reading about / listening to hundreds of reports over the years of hikers going missing after separating from their group, usually by stating their intention to "rest and catch up later," I simply cannot understand why ANYONE EVER agrees to this! It's ludicrous, IMO. This case, in particular, is egregious! With "friends" like that, she didn't need enemies! Kat was 68 and in such "poor health" that she "couldn't have strayed far due to poor health." Yet, her "friends" thought it was reasonable to abandon her in the Mexican desert in 90*F temperatures??? Continuing their hike without any inconvenience or change of plan was so extremely important that they couldn't wait with her, or, if necessary, cut the hike short??? I can't believe any "hiker" doesn't understand the dangers of leaving a companion alone in the wilderness. It defies common sense to the point I wonder if this was some kind of very weird "assisted suicide," or worse.

I don't know why hikers are routinely vanishing under even seemingly benign conditions, but it is a very well documented phenomenon. David Paulides, with his numerous books detailing MANY cases, is probably the best known, but others are documenting / publicizing it, too. Numerous cases are here on WS. MOO.

ETA: On top of everything else crazy about this story, she was in "DIABLO" Canyon, which is Spanish for "DEVIL." Many disappearances have occurred in places with names that refer to "devil," "satan," or similar.

This is why when I hike in a group I always agree with everyone that we DO NOT leave each other alone. If someone is tired, we stop. If someone cant make it, we turn around. The hike and summit will always be there but its just not worth it to separate. Also I am confused. The friends left her behind and then when they returned they noticed her missing later in the day? Wouldn't they have noticed she was missing when they returned to the spot she was at? Or was it a loop?
It is VERY easy to get off trail and become disoriented. It happened to me once and scared the crap out of me. I don't know where the hike was but the vastness of trees and land can look so similar when their are no markers that we in an industrialized area are used to seeing- restaraunts, hotel, etc.

 

[ilovechili]

Just checking in. No news it looks like?

I just do not get this one. If she was in poor health with broken toes I just cannot see her wandering far or getting very far.

Continuing to have hope though.

 

[EmmieA]

Someone upthread mentioned googling “kay and her dog missing” and if you do you can find a great forum about the Baja California area. There’s a Kat thread w/a lot of local knowledge (people who know the area/terrain and the trail that Kat was on.) Lots of great info if you’re curious. I don’t think I can link it here bc also has FB posts from her husband.

 

[ilovechili]

Someone upthread mentioned googling “kay and her dog missing” and if you do you can find a great forum about the Baja California area. There’s a Kat thread w/a lot of local knowledge (people who know the area/terrain and the trail that Kat was on.) Lots of great info if you’re curious. I don’t think I can link it here bc also has FB posts from her husband.

Thank you EmmieA.

 

[Jilllian]

It always seems super fishy to me when family members constantly use "I" when speaking of missing loved ones. Sigh.

 

[slowpoke]

This is just too, too eerie: Kat made a series of 6 short videos in 2015 during a time she got lost in that same general area of the desert (at least, I think it’s the same area) while driving around her dune buggy and documents it in real time. I haven’t finished watching them all, but a lot of Kat’s thoughts and mindset for being in that predicament can be learned.

As I said, I haven’t watched them all yet, but some things she has said while in her situation: that she’s “directionally challenged”, should “stay in one place. Don’t start wandering”, “I’ll make it back. I’m a survivor. I’ve survived a lot worse than this. And I’m not a-scared.”

Disclosure—I did not discover these videos on my own. Someone from that site I mentioned if you google “Kat and her dog are missing” posted about them.

Look for the 6 videos labeled “The Quackery of Kat”
Katherine Hammontré

 

[tigerteeth]

I don’t see any news updates. Anyone with Facebook see any updates per the links?

 

[Suglo]

I don’t see any news updates. Anyone with Facebook see any updates per the links?

There’s a post from April 20, 2019 on the Valle de San Quintin FB page in Spanish that explains that the authorities and SAR have not found a trace of Kat or her dog and have called off the search. Also they say that her husband placed a cross at the place she was last seen. They mention at the very end that Baja’s Attorney General’s Office (PGJE) is investigating the case. I can’t find anything else public thereafter.

Valle de San Quintin

 

[bmacmillan1]

This is so sad that Kat and Tootsie have still not been found. Is there a chance that they were taken by a wild animal? I presume there are wild animals n the area of the hike.