Woman, 53, reported missing from "spiritual" camp in southwestern Colorado

Search and rescue officials are looking for a woman in southwestern Colorado who was reported missing from a camp near Norwood.

Gina Chase was last seen around 11 a.m. Wednesday and reported missing on Thursday. She was part of a spiritual group who would go on solo "quests" and were discouraged from bringing cell phones, other electronics or food, according to the San Miguel County Sheriff's Office.

The 53-year-old set off from the Wilson Mesa trailhead in the Lone Cone area outside Norwood, a town of just over 500 people, about 55 miles east of the Utah-Colorado state line and about 360 miles southwest of Denver.

The sheriff's office says 11 campers from an organized group from Durango set off on solo journeys. The sheriff's office says the group discouraged food and electronics to "maximize a spiritual experience with nature." They used a buddy system designed to confirm campers' return to camp after their journeys, but Chase's buddy said she hadn't returned.

When camp guides began looking for her and her belongings, they say her daypack was missing, which they said contained an emergency blanket, whistle, power bar and water.

After a several-hour search turned up nothing, guides contacted the sheriff's office, which deployed deputies and a search and rescue team, which included aircraft and dogs. By Saturday, more than three dozen people from several counties and agencies, including volunteers and a private pilot, were involved in the search.

"Our team of deputies and Search and Rescue volunteers are working tirelessly to locate this missing woman," San Miguel County Sheriff Bill Masters said in a statement on Saturday. "While their efforts have not been successful thus far, we remain hopeful that she will be found."

People are being asked to stay away from the area of Lone Cone and refrain from flying drones in the area so as not to interfere with search efforts.

Colorado wildlife officials urge people going into the backcountry to bring food, water and a cell phone for safety.

Information about the group leading the experience were not immediately available.

Anyone with information about Chase's whereabouts is asked to call the San Miguel County Sheriff's Office at 970-728-1911.

She's described as 5'4", about 125 pounds and possibly wearing a purple rain jacket.