{"id":26058,"date":"2024-08-19T19:31:15","date_gmt":"2024-08-19T19:31:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/woman-rescued-after-four-days-lost-on-solo-quest-with-durango-guide-group\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T05:32:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T05:32:49","slug":"woman-rescued-after-four-days-lost-on-solo-quest-with-durango-guide-group","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/woman-rescued-after-four-days-lost-on-solo-quest-with-durango-guide-group\/","title":{"rendered":"Woman rescued after four days lost on solo \u2018quest\u2019 with Durango guide group"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Gina
Gina Chase, 53, of Victoria, Canada, was found alive and uninjured after a four-day search involving dozens of people, numerous agencies and aircraft. (Courtesy of the San Miguel County Sheriff\u2019s Office)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

A 53-year-old woman was found safe and uninjured on Sunday after spending four days missing in the backcountry near Norwood. Gina Chase was on a 12-day \u201cquest\u201d in the Uncompahgre National Forest with the Durango-based Animas Valley Institute when she went missing.<\/p>\n

Chase, of Victoria, Canada, was in a program that \u201ccatalyzes the encounter with soul,\u201d and included a three- or four-day solitary fast in the woods near Lone Cone Peak, according to a description of the program on the Institute\u2019s website<\/a>. The organization is \u201cdedicated to human development.\u201d<\/p>\n

Participants were discouraged from bringing cellphones or other electronic devices, according to statements posted on social media by the San Miguel County Sheriff\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n

Sheriff Bill Masters criticized the Animas Valley Institute\u2019s program in an acerbic statement posted to Facebook.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou should not starve yourself even if a \u2019guide\u2019 service suggests the opposite of these basic safety rules,\u201d he wrote. \u201cNature does not care about your safety and will kill you especially if are not properly prepared.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an interview with The Durango Herald<\/em>, Masters said, \u201cthe whole thing seemed a little cavalier to me, quite frankly.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response to a request for comment, the Institute directed the Herald<\/em> to a statement posted on Facebook. The organization did not respond to further requests.<\/p>\n

Chase had \u201cemergency rations\u201d with her when she failed to return to her solo camp the night of Aug. 14. The program uses a buddy system to ensure that all participants are accounted for. Chase\u2019s buddy returned to the main camp midday on Aug. 15 to find that she had not checked in.<\/p>\n

Masters said that in the version of events he had heard, Chase was supposed to move a rock to signal that she was OK. She took a circuitous route to that rock as to avoid another camper and got disoriented.<\/p>\n

\"More
More than three dozen deputies and volunteers with search and rescue organizations participated in the four-day search for Gina Chase, which also received support from SAR teams from Dolores, La Plata, Montezuma and Ouray counties; Ridgway Fire Department\u2019s drone team; and the U.S. Forest Service. Searches also used air resources through Highland Helicopters, in Durango, a private individual from Norwood and the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control\u2019s multi-mission aircraft. (Courtesy of the San Miguel County Sheriff\u2019s Office)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Guides searched Chase\u2019s solo camp and found evidence that she had not slept there. After conducting a search themselves, guides called sheriff\u2019s dispatch at 2 p.m.<\/p>\n

About 60 deputies, officials and volunteers with search and rescue organizations participated in the four-day search, which also received support from search and rescue teams from Dolores, La Plata, Montezuma and Ouray counties; Ridgway Fire Department\u2019s drone team; and the U.S. Forest Service. Searches also used air resources through Highland Helicopters, in Durango; a private individual from Norwood; and the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control\u2019s multi-mission aircraft.<\/p>\n

Searches like this cost thousands of dollars. The Sheriff\u2019s Office may be eligible for reimbursement through the state, but it may be left on the hook for the bill, which included the use of a private helicopter. Highland Helicopters tried to locate Chase with the Lifeseeker,<\/a> which acts like a miniature cell tower, however she mostly kept her phone off.<\/p>\n

\u201cGo someplace where there is cell service and just tell people \u2018don\u2019t use the phone,\u2019 \u2013 I mean, come on,\u201d Masters said. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to deliberately go someplace where there\u2019s no cell service, where you\u2019re going to leave people out by themselves for 24 hours at a time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Animas Valley Institute defended its practices in a social media post, writing, \u201cThe solo element of our programming offers the opportunity for deep reflection free from the distractions of everyday life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Founded in 1980 by psychologist Bill Plotkin, the Animas Valley Institute said this is the first time a serious incident has occurred on a trip and committed to \u201cthoroughly review our approach.\u201d<\/p>\n

The nonprofit has \u201cclear emergency protocols,\u201d according to the post, although it is unknown whether those protocols were followed.<\/p>\n

\"\u201cObviously
\u201cObviously this is the outcome we were all hoping for, and we couldn\u2019t be happier for Ms. Chase and her family,\u201d Sheriff Bill Masters said in a post on Facebook. \u201cThe ultimate success of this mission is a real testament to our responders\u2019 tenacity, perseverance, and dedication.\u201d (Courtesy of the San Miguel County Sheriff\u2019s Office)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Trips such as the one Chase was on operate under a special-use permit on federal land. A spokeswoman for the Uncompahgre National Forest confirmed that the Institute has a permit for group events in the Norwood Ranger District. Clients can pay on a sliding scale of about $1,900 to $2,400.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the coming weeks, the Animas Valley Institute will be initiating a thorough review of this incident that will include independent expertise,\u201d the organization said. \u201cWe will examine all aspects of our risk management protocols. The safety and well-being of our participants remains our highest priority and we will do whatever is required to fulfill that responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n

rschafir@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2018Nature does not care about your safety and will kill you,\u2019 sheriff says, chastising Animas Valley Institute<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26059,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,1807,976,1561],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-26058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-la-plata-county-search-and-rescue","tag-outdoor-recreation","tag-san-miguel-county"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26058"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26058\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79207,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26058\/revisions\/79207"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26058"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=26058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}