By Emma Barrett
A missing BYU student was found Saturday, Dec. 2, after a day and a half of searching by police officials and volunteers.
Jeanine Durland, 21, was taken to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center with possible frostbite injuries on her feet, said Lt. Stan Egan of the Provo Police.
Durland became lost while hiking near Y Mountain in the Rock Canyon area. She was far enough from the trail that she could not tell which way was out, Egan said.
“This is extremely lucky; we’re really pleased,” he said.
Usually, searches for people who have been missing as long as Durland was have unhappy endings, Egan said.
Durland’s preparation made the difference in this case, he said. She had a warm coat and a backpack filled with food and water.
When Durland realized she was running out of energy trying to find the trail, she sat down where she was and waited for rescuers to find her, Egan said.
Although this story had a happy ending, people should not go hiking by themselves, Egan said. Hiking with others is much safer than hiking alone.
Police resumed their search for Durland at 8 a.m. Saturday morning after calling it off temporarily at 6:30 Friday night.
According to a news release, the Provo Police Department received a call Friday morning, Dec. 2, from a friend of Durland’s stating that she had not returned from a Thursday hike on Y Mountain.
After receiving the call, Provo Police enlisted help from other law enforcement agencies in their search.
“This has really been a joint effort,” Egan said.
Provo Police, the Utah County Sheriff’s Department and University Police cooperated, sending a helicopter, six small airplanes and several ground search and rescue teams out in the search for Durland, police officials said.
News organizations also loaned helicopters and other equipment to the search effort, Egan said.
