Remains of hiker likely found in Grand County

Authorities believe they’ve found the remains of a 72-year-old woman who disappeared during a hike in northern Colorado two years ago.

Grand County Undersheriff John Stein announced Tuesday that searchers found remains, clothing and identification belonging to Patricia Wallace on Friday in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. They searched the area near Thunderbolt Creek after a Santa Fe, New Mexico family found bones there on Aug. 9 while looking for a campsite.

A DNA analysis will be done to confirm that the remains belong to Wallace.

She was hiking with friends in the Camp Dick area on July 3, 2012 when she decided to take another route she thought would be easier. Searchers from Grand and Boulder counties spent 13 days searching for her.