A heartbreaking conclusion to a multi-day search occured on Friday when rescue teams located the body of a missing 30-year-old hiker in the rugged California coastal mountains. Caroline Meister, an experienced outdoorswoman working at a nearby Zen center, had been missing since Monday after setting out on a day hike in the area.
According to the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office, Meister’s body was recovered on Friday bearing injuries consistent with a fatal fall from a cliff. Authorities stated there is no evidence of foul play in her death. The tragic discovery brought an end to the extensive search and rescue operation that had been underway since she failed to return from her hike on Monday evening.
Meister had left the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, where she had been living and working for around 18 months, at approximately 10am on Monday morning. She had supplies only for a day hike on one of the trails in the Los Padres National Forest near the center. When she did not return as expected that night, the center alerted authorities and a search commenced.
“Caroline was very familiar with this area and an avid, experienced hiker,” said her father John Meister in comments to local media earlier this week. “She mentioned possibly taking the longer Windcave Trail loop, but she was only prepared for a day on the trails.”
Search teams from multiple agencies combed the remote, mountainous terrain around the Zen center for four days using ground teams, dog teams, helicopter and drone support in hopes of finding the missing woman. The operation took place in an area of California that has seen other high-profile missing hiker cases in recent years.
Tragically, their efforts led to the discovery of Meister’s body on Friday. While the full details are still under investigation, the sheriff’s office stated her injuries were consistent with a deadly fall seemingly ruling out any criminal element.
For the woman’s family and her community at the Zen center, the terribly sad outcome will now give them a measure of closure after anguishing days spent hoping for her safe return from the mountains she loved. A hiker’s life cut short serves as a sobering reminder of the inherent risks in those beautiful but unforgiving environments.
