'We were praying for this;' missing hiker found alive in Little Cottonwood Canyon


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LITTLE COTTONWOOD CANYON — A trail runner who hadn’t been heard from in over 24 hours was found alive Friday; volunteers had been searching for the woman since Thursday evening.

“We were praying for this,” said Winnie Rohde, her mother-in-law. “Ever since yesterday.”

Officials with the Unified Police Department said Dawn Rohde, 41, left the Red Pine Lake trailhead around 7:30 a.m. on the Fourth of July. According to a family friend, the last time she was heard from was when she called her husband around 1:30 p.m. Thursday to say she was going to try and cross a ridge line into the Red Pine Lake area.

Members of her trail running group, Wasatch Mountain Wranglers, headed up trails Thursday evening looking for their lost friend.

"They asked what they can do and we just told everybody they could just, pray and pray and pray more,” said Rohde’s husband, David Rohde.

Rohde was found in fair condition near Tanners Flat Campground Friday a little after 3 p.m. and reunited with her friends and family a few hours later. Volunteers found her, and Department of Public Safety crews helped get Rohde out of the canyon via helicopter.

Officials said Rohde was able to stay warm overnight thanks to her aluminum blanket. In all, Rohde ended up spending more than 30 hours alone in the canyon.

Contributing: Alex Cabrero, KSL TV; Sean Moody, KSL TV; Matt Rascon, KSL TV

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Lauren Bennett is a reporter with KSL.com who covers Utah’s religious community and the growing tech sector in the Beehive State.

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