Nevada woman who was found clinging to tree on steep cliff has gone missing again, officials say

A Nevada woman who vanished on Valentine’s Day and was then rescued clinging to a tree on a steep cliff has gone missing again, officials said.

Gayle Stewart, 64, was found last month on a slope in a hiking area in her hometown of Reno. She is now missing for the second time in consecutive months, federal authorities said, but this time her last know whereabouts were hundreds of miles from home.

Stewart was last seen on March 14, in the Bypass Bridge parking area near Hoover Dam, according to a statement from the US Park Rangers of Lake Mead National Recreation Area and Special Agents with the National Park Service Investigative Services Branch.

“Stewart had traveled to the area to take photographs and did not return to her vehicle,” officials said.

A spokesperson with Lake Mead National Recreation Area confirmed Tuesday in an email Stewart is the same woman who went missing in Northern Nevada in February. There were no updates on her most recent disappearance, officials said.

Stewart’s relatives could not be reached for comment.

Stewart has blonde hair and blue eyes. She stands about 5-feet-8 inches tall and weighs approximately 155 pounds, officials said.

She was last seen wearing a black long sleeve shirt, black leggings and black shoes. She did not have her phone or any identification on her at the time.

After first being reported missing on Valentine’s Day, Stewart was found in a fairly common hiking area of the Caughlin Ranch neighborhood with a lot of dirt roads, NBC affiliate in Reno KRDV reported. She was located in an area where people don’t usually walk on a dangerously steep slope. 

Stewart was initially found totally unresponsive and hypothermic to the point where she stopped shivering. It’s not clear how Stewart ended up clinging onto the tree on the slope.

Fire officials said she was found missing one shoe and both legs had “quite a bit of trauma,” meaning she could have fallen down the slope. 

Anyone with knowledge of Stewart’s disappearance or whereabouts is urged to call or text tips at 888-653-0009 or to provide an online tip, officials said.