Searchers Seek Missing Hiker by Blanca Lake Near Index

INDEX, Wash. (AP) — Snohomish County authorities have located a hiker who went missing overnight near Blanca Lake in the Index area. The 18-year-old woman is reported to be in good condition.

Search and rescue crews found the woman, who has not been identified, on Sunday after she was reported missing Saturday night.

The woman had gotten separated from two friends and tried to return to the trailhead but got lost.

Crews used search dogs and a helicopter, but Sheriff's Lt. David Bowman says they were able to locate the woman with the help of a footprint that led them to a steep drainage where she was found.

Bowman says the woman hadn't been equipped for the conditions in the remote area, but was cleared by medics and able to rejoin her family.