CRAIG — A woman and her two children were found Thursday by aircraft after they spent two nights in the northwestern Colorado wilderness, authorities said.
The Moffat County sheriff’s office said Kaylee Messerly, 36, and her daughter, 3, were taken to the hospital with exposure-related injuries, KCNC-TV reported. The 1-year-old daughter died before the family was found.
The cause of death was not immediately known.
Lt. Chip McIntyre said an oil field employee, who was not identified, discovered the woman’s vehicle about 6 miles (9 kilometers) north of Craig stuck in mud and snow and called authorities Thursday around 8 a.m.
McIntyre said a search was launched immediately and the mother and her children were found about a mile away walking among sagebrush and not close to any road.
Deputies are still investigating.
The Moffat County sheriff’s office and Moffat County search & rescue conducted the search. The aircraft that found the family was provided by Mountain Air Spray Co.