Woman reported missing on a weekend Arizona hike found dead

CAVE CREEK, Ariz. (AP) — A woman reported missing last weekend while hiking in Cave Creek has been found dead, authorities said Wednesday.

Maricopa County Sheriff’s officials said the body of 60-year-old Kathleen Patterson was located around 8 a.m. and there was no apparent signs of foul play.

It will be up to the county medical examiner’s office to determine the cause of death.

Authorities said a volunteer searcher discovered the body about 200 yards away from a trailhead in the popular Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area in Cave Creek, a nearly 2,200-acre county park about 40 miles (64 kilometers) north of Phoenix.

Patterson’s family said she was an avid hiker and was last seen leaving her residence to go hiking around 7:30 a.m. Sunday.

She sent her husband of 37 years a text message 2 ½ hours later to say she had gotten off the hiking route but was OK and had plenty of water but was not heard from again.

Sheriff’s officials issued a missing person bulletin Sunday night after Patterson’s car was found in the trailhead parking lot.