Missing Ross River woman, Rose Caesar, medevaced to Whitehorse

A search and rescue volunteer in Ross River, Yukon says residents were "ecstatic" after a missing woman was found alive Sunday morning.

Rose Caesar, 32, was reported missing on Friday. She was last seen driving an ATV on the Robert Campbell Highway, travelling towards Watson Lake.

Her ATV was found abandoned late Saturday.

"We were all expecting the worst," said Tim Colwell, one of the volunteers who helped organize the search. He said the weather was miserable — damp with blowing snow.

"We were all looking at the weather thinking, this would be the second night that she's been out there. Unless she's been picked up or in a cabin somewhere, there's no way this is going to have a happy ending."

Police say Yukon Search and Rescue located Caesar at about 9:20 a.m. on Sunday, in the Mink Creek area, about 1.5 kilometres away from where the ATV was found.

She was transported to Whitehorse General Hospital for injuries sustained from cold exposure.

Yukon Search and Rescue, Ross River RCMP, Faro RCMP, Faro conservation officers, Watson Lake RCMP and Ross River community members all took part in the ground and air search over two days.

"Ms. Caesar being found alive can be directly attributed to the extraordinary efforts by all involved," said a press release.

"We were all pretty excited when the news came back that she was found," Colwell said. "You can't ask for any better than that."