Chilling details emerge after hiker’s body is found following heartbreaking last text to her husband
A WOMAN’S heartbreaking last text message to her husband before she was found dead after going hiking has emerged.
Kathleen Patterson, 60, told her husband of 37 years she had gotten “off route” hours before she was reported missing after going on a hike in Arizona on Sunday morning.
Kathleen Patterson, 60, was found dead on Wednesday, days after going on missing while out on a hike in ArizonaCredit: Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office
The Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area is a nearly 2,200-acre county park about 40 miles north of PhoenixCredit: Alamy
Steve Patterson told KPHO-TV the text from his wife read: “Hey babe I’ve gotten off route. I’m OK. Plenty of water. All good.”
The message was sent at 10.02am, and Patterson was reported missing that night after she failed to return from her hike.
Patterson’s car was located in the trailhead parking lot.
A search quickly ensued, with more than 200 volunteers searching the area on Tuesday.
She was not found until Wednesday, when a volunteer searcher came across the body about 200 yards from the popular trail.
“Kathleen Patterson has been located. Unfortunately, she was found deceased by a volunteer searcher off trail in the Spur Cross conservation area,” the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office said on Sunday.
An investigation into the death has been opened, but no foul play is suspected, according to police.
The Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area is a nearly 2,200-acre county park about 40 miles north of Phoenix.
Patterson’s family said she was an avid hiker.
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Missing Hiker Found Dead Days After Texting Her Husband That She ‘Got Off Course’