Three sisters who went missing while on backcountry camping trip FOUND alive in Wyoming wilderness
- Megan Andrews-Sharer, 25, and sisters Erin, 22, and Kelsie, 16, left on June 28 and were expected to return on Tuesday
- Their black 2008 Saturn Vue with Wisconsin license plates was found at a trailhead near Bridger-Teton National Forest
- Sisters were spotted from a helicopter at 10am on Thursday in Bridger-Teton National Forest
- The women are experienced hikers and had a tent, sleeping bags and five days' worth of food
- Siblings planned to drive to Chicago Tuesday to catch a plane to Switzerland
Three sisters from the Midwest who went missing while on an extended backcountry trip in northwest Wyoming were found alive this morning.
An official involved in the search operation confirmed that Megan Margaret Andrews-Sharer, 25, and her sisters, 22-year-old Erin and 16-year-old Kelsie, were discovered cold, tired and hungry, but otherwise healthy.
Search spokeswoman Lori Iverson says the three were spotted by a helicopter about 10am in Bridger-Teton National Forest, about 25 miles southeast of the resort town of Jackson.
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Found: This undated family photo released by the Teton County Sheriff's Office in Wyoming shows Megan Margaret Andrews-Sharer, center, with sisters, Erin, right, and Kelsi, who were found alive Thursday, two days after they failed to return from a camping trip
Clue: The sisters' black 2008 Saturn Vue with Wisconsin license plates was found at a trailhead near Bridger-Teton National Forest on Wednesday
Intense search: About 60 people were scouring an area of Bridger-Teton National Forest by foot and on horseback
Megan, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and her younger sisters, both from Columbus, Ohio, left on June 28 and were expected to return on Tuesday but did not make it back, said Teton County Sheriff's Lt. Slade Ross.
Family members initially contacted authorities in Grand Teton National Park, where they believed the sisters were, but the search switched to an area of Bridger-Teton National Forest on Wednesday when their car was discovered abandoned at a trailhead.
The search area is about 15 miles south of the resort town of Jackson.
Iverson, spokeswoman for the multiagency task force conducting the search, said the trio are experienced backcountry trekkers and that they had talked to a US Forest Service employee prior to setting out into the wilderness with their camping gear.
The canyon area that was the focus of the search is a gradual climb without thick vegetation, and weather conditions were good, Iverson said.
About 60 people were on the search - some on foot, some on horseback and some using tracking dogs.
Thanks to favorable weather conditions, helicopters were able to will ferry searchers and look for the young women from the air.
Two three-person teams were dropped in at higher country upslope from the trail entrance to camp overnight and resumed the search on Thursday.
Megan (left), Erin (center) and Kelsie (right) were expected to return from the trip on Tuesday but failed to arrive
Big plans: Megan Andrew-Sharer (left and right), 25, from Milwaukee, was set to board a flight to Switzerland to go to work on a farm
Outdoorsy: Officials say the sisters are experienced trekkers who have been camping their entire lives
‘We are being optimistic and hoping that they simply wandered astray from the trail,’ Iverson said before the women were found. ‘They are experienced hikers."
The Rev. Susan Patterson-Sumwalt of the United Methodist Church of Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, said the sisters had worshipped there as children and that Megan had worked there until recently.
Megan resigned recently to work on a farm in Wyoming, Patterson-Sumwalt said.
The reverend added in the interview with Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that upon completing their trip, the Andrews-Shareres were supposed to drive to Chicago to catch a flight to Switzerland, where Megan and possibly her younger sisters planned to work on another farm.
Patterson-Sumwalt described the trio as 'calm young women' and 'good problem solvers'.
Devout: Megan (pictured) had worked at the United Methodist Church of Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin
Erin Andrews-Sharer (left and right), 22, lives and works in Columbus, Ohio
Parents' worst nightmare: The sisters' parents, Eric and Shirley Andrews-Sharer (left and right) traveled to Wyoming to assist with the search for their missing children
Well-prepared: The women had in their possession a three-person tent, sleeping bags and five days’ worth of food
Teton County Sheriff Jim Whalen said the siblings have been going on back country camping trips their entire lives and officials were confident the women know what they're doing.
It was believed the women had in their possession a three-person tent, sleeping bags and five days’ worth of food purchased on the first day of their trip, reported ABC News.
On Wednesday, a signal from one of the sisters’ cell phone received June 30 led searchers to their car, a black 2008 Saturn Vue with Wisconsin license plate 482WAH, which was discovered at 2.45pm south of Jackson Hole.
The women last used their electronic devices just before 8pm June 30 from Hoback Junction.
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