Teresa Schmidt decided to go hiking on September 6, 2002. She is an experienced hiker and had visited the area before, but its physical features had been greatly changed by a forest fire and she may not have known her way around. She left Lost Valley Guest Ranch alone, carrying a backpack which contained a jacket and two bottles of water. Teresa Schmidt was last seen at about 300 p. m. on a trail leading to a rocky overlook east of the ranch. She was reported missing by her husband at 700 p. m. when she failed to return to the ranch, but search efforts did not begin until 200 a. m. the next day. Nearly seventy volunteer searchers, tracker dogs, and helicopters scoured the area for Schmidt for six days after she disappeared. Her husband spent several days searching by motorcycle. Search efforts were hampered by inclement weather and the only thing anyone located was two sets of Schmidt's footprints near Cheesman Overlook, one set on each side of the ridge.