Missouri’s deputy attorney general was found alive six days after he vanished during a backcountry hike in Wyoming’s remote wilderness.

Shaun Mackelprang, 55, was rescued by helicopter on Wednesday morning near Scott Lake in the isolated Wind River Range.

“Search and rescue personnel located Mackelprang and safely prepared him for helicopter extraction from the backcountry at approximately 0945 this morning,” the Sublette County Sheriff’s Office wrote on Facebook.

Mackelprang began his trek from the Green River Lakes Trailhead on August 20 with a planned destination of Gannett Peak. Search operations were initiated after he was reported missing and his vehicle was located at the trailhead. This successful outcome is the result of the tremendous effort and coordination of Tip Top Search and Rescue volunteers, Sublette County Sheriff’s Office personnel and the SCSO Drone Team, along with the support of everyone who provided information or assistance throughout the search,” it continued.

“We also sincerely thank the public and backcountry users who shared information, reviewed photographs and GPS data, shared the missing-person information, and helped get the word out,” it added.

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The Hill shared further:

Authorities did not initially provide details on Mackelprang’s condition; however, Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway (R) told a local radio station he was dehydrated and in the hospital but expected to make a “full recovery.”

The sheriff’s office later shared that Mackelprang was continuing to “recover well,” with Sheriff K.C. Lehr describing the situation as a “miraculous recovery.”

“Currently, our priority is allowing Shaun the opportunity to rest and recover,” a spokesperson wrote in a Thursday update. “Search and Rescue personnel will have an opportunity to debrief with him later, but the details of what Shaun experienced during his time in the backcountry are ultimately his story to tell, and we will respect his privacy as he recovers.”

“Mackelprang had set out to summit Gannett Peak, Wyoming’s tallest mountain at 13,804 feet, as part of a personal quest to reach the highest point in all 50 states. This was number 45. Rescuers found he’d signed the summit register, meaning the trouble started on his way down,” Fox News wrote.

“Bravo to the rescuers who found missing Missouri hiker Shaun Mackelprang ‘dehydrated and disoriented’ and flew him by helicopter to a medical facility. Shaun is a big part of the legal community, especially when it comes to appellate law,” lawyer and syndicated talk radio host Jennifer Bukowsky said.

CBS News has more:

Mackelprang’s brother, Romel Mackelprang, told the local news site Cowboy State Daily that he had reached the summit of the mountain but became dehydrated and disoriented during his descent, returning to Scott Lake instead of another lake where he had pitched his tent.

Romel Mackelprang said at the time that there had been bad weather in the mountains as his brother attempted to make his way back down from the summit, but added that the family wasn’t yet aware of exactly what happened to him, the news site reported. He also wasn’t sure at the time whether his brother had suffered any injuries during the ordeal.

“They found him wandering at a lake that probably looks similar to the one that his tent was pitched at,” Romel Mackelprang told Cowboy State Daily. “We don’t know.”

 

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