RED LODGE — A search has been launched for a hiker who fell into a creek in Carbon County and was swept away by the fast-flowing water, officials said Monday.
The hiker fell into East Rosebud Creek at Rimrock Lake at about 12:15 p.m. Sunday while hiking the Beaten Path from East Rosebud Lake to Cooke City, according to a press release issued Monday by Red Lodge Search and Rescue.
Red Lodge Fire Rescue search and rescue crews and the Carbon County Sheriff's Office are currently conducting a search with ground teams and a drone.
The Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Department helicopter is assisting the teams by searching the cascades in the creek just below Rimrock Lake.
The incident was reported shortly after it happened by the hiker’s companion, who alerted a forest service trail crew camped in the area.
Search and Rescue members responded immediately to begin searching the area on the ground while the Montana Army National Guard responded to search the creek from the air with two helicopters, the press release states.
Rescuers were unable to locate the hiker on Sunday.
The Carbon County Sheriff's Office and Red Lodge Fire Rescue are asking anyone with information about the incident to contact the Carbon County Sheriff's Office at 406-446-1234.
A 20-year-old Montana State University student from Minnesota drowned in the same area last year when he fell into the fast-moving creek.
