Missing for six days, hiker and her dog found safe by rescue teams

Madeline Connelly. (Facebook)

US hiker Madeline Connelly, who had been missing for six days amid Montana wilderness was found by the search crews on Thursday. According to a report in BBC, Connelly, 23 and her dog Mogie were lost in the Great Bear Wilderness area near Glacier National Park. As per the report, she was found approximately five miles from the trailhead. The hiker was lifted on a chopper and taken to a nearby hospital to reunite with her family after she was discovered, the report said.

“All I had was overalls, a sweater with a hood, a T-shirt, my dog’s leash, my dog and my car keys,” Connelly told reporters. She also said that she realised she was lost after a point but kept on moving forward. “I feel like an idiot, honestly, because it was just a huge mistake,” she said.

Giving details about how her ordeal to local media, Madeline said, “I was hiking about 10 miles a day… I had my dog with me. We rested for about two days because I just couldn’t move one day. It kind of snowed.”

In spite of being lost amid the wild for six days with no food and water, Madeline’s first response on seeing the rescuers was to ask them if she could hike back with them, her father Michael Connelly told reporters. Her family also said that they knew she would be found safe as she is an experienced hiker. Michael added that he kept sending text messages to her knowing she would read them. “Some of them probably were a little emotional, but the whole time she would read them all. I knew she would,” he said.