A death investigation is underway after missing Scottsdale hiker Hannah Moody’s body was located around 12:05 p.m. on May 22 near the Gateway Trailhead of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve.

The search for the Moody, 31, started in the evening hours on May 21, according to a press release from the Scottsdale Police Department.

Moody was first reported missing around 7:50 p.m. on May 21 by concerned friends who had not heard from her, according to the release.

Scottsdale officers responded to the trailhead where she was last seen and located her vehicle still in the parking lot. Efforts to reach her by phone or ping her cellphone were unsuccessful, the report said.

Officers began search efforts on foot, with drones and assistance from a Phoenix Police Department helicopter. Search efforts continued for Hannah for approximately four and a half hours until around 11:30 p.m., when the search was called off for the evening.

Search efforts picked back up the morning of May 22, with more than 20 officers on bicycles and foot, with drones and with the assistance of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office search and rescue team and air unit. Other individuals showed up and assisted with the search efforts as well, according to the release, the report said..

The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Air Unit located Hannah’s body around 12:05 p.m., about 600 yards off-trail from the trailhead parking lot. Scottsdale detectives and crime scene personnel will now conduct an investigation to piece together what happened to Moody and how she died, according to the report.

The Scottsdale Police Department’s investigation will be in cooperation with the Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner, which will ultimately determine the cause of death, the report said.
Foul play is not suspected.