Police search trekking trail in northern Nepal for American woman missing on solo trek

Nepal police search for missing American hiker

KATMANDU, Nepal — Police are scouring a remote region in northern Nepal searching for an American woman who has been missing since last month when she failed to check in after a solo hike in the Himalayan mountains, an official said Wednesday.

Aubrey Sacco, 23, of Greeley, Colorado, was reported missing by her family. She had arrived in the Langtang area in the northern region of Nepal in April for a trek that was to last just over a week.

Her mother, Connie Sacco, said Aubrey had promised to check in by e-mail around April 29 but did not.

The young woman was hiking alone without a guide or porter. There were not many other backpackers in the area because it was end of the trekking season.

The police chief in the Rasuwa area, Om Bahadur Rana, said police teams were searching the trekking route and interviewing inn owners and villagers. Word has been sent to local monasteries, which are often visited by foreign trekkers.

Rana said the teams are searching for clues up to 300 feet (100 meters) on either side of the mountain trail. Police sniffer dogs will also join the search, he said.

Visitors are required to sign in before entering the Langtang conservation area

Rana said Sacco had signed in before entering the Langtang conservation area as required on April 20. But she never signed out and nobody saw a woman fitting her description leave the area, he said.

The search was unable to begin sooner because mass protests on May 1 and a general strike imposed by the Maoist former rebels shut down all transport in Nepal until May 7.

Information about the missing woman was received only after the strike was over and a search was immediately ordered, police said.

Thousands of Western backpackers visit during the spring season to hike in Nepal, home to dozens of popular mountain trails as well as Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak.