Body of woman recovered from Colorado mountain 5 days after she sent message for help

Rescue personnel and a helicopter successfully completed the highly technical recovery of a 29-year-old Denver woman's body from Kit Carson Peak in Colorado on this weekend.

Anna DeBattiste of the Colorado Search And Rescue Association confirmed to CBS Denver that rescue team members safely returned from the operation some time after midnight on Saturday after recovering the body of Madeline Baharlou-Quivey.

Using ropes and climbing harnesses, Alamosa Volunteer Search and Rescue personnel made the climb from the Spanish Creek side of the peak, approaching Baharlou-Quivey's location from below, DeBattiste told CBS Denver. A helicopter from the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control's Cañon City Helitack flew the body out of the area. Saguache County Search And Rescue personnel hauled out rope and climbing hardware to the Alamosa climbers, DeBattiste added.

Baharlou-Quivey sent out a message for help Monday evening, saying she had strayed from the standard route to the peak and was "cliffed out" below "The Avenue" section of the route. Rescue personnel responded the following morning but were unable to locate her as inclement weather rolled into the area.

They did locate her the next day, Wednesday, and determined from aerial observation that she had died from a fall. A crew on the ground came to within 100 feet of her location before running out of daylight and aborting the recovery mission.

Crews organized Saturday to continue the recovery effort. Hikers in the area were asked to avoid the peak while rescue personnel operated in areas below the trail that made them vulnerable to rockfall.

Baharlou-Quivey had started in a nursing position at Presbyterian St. Lukes Medical Center in August.

In:
• Colorado