A map of the area in the Uinta Wilderness where a 14 year old girl has been missing since Thursday. Photo: TownLift via Google Maps

UPDATE: After 25 hours missing, Maya Suisse has been found. She is safe and with her family according to the Duchesne County Sheriff’s Office. Maya told KUTV that she got disoriented on her way back to camp. “I went to the bathroom and then on the way back I got lost,” she said. Just after 1 p.m. on Friday, a helicopter crew spotted Maya and brought her to safety.

DUCHESNE COUNTY – Search and rescue teams are continuing efforts to locate a 14-year-old girl who went missing Thursday in the high wilderness of the Uinta Mountains.

Maya was last seen wearing a pink hoodie and gray capri pants.

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According to Capt. John Crowley of the Duchesne County Sheriff’s Office, the teen was reported missing around 11 a.m. Thursday in the remote Painter’s Basin area, near Kidney Lakes. Painter’s Basin is high-elevation valley located east of Kings Peak. She had been hiking with a group of about seven family members and reportedly separated from the group to use the bathroom, but never returned.

Crowley said the family has prior experience backpacking and had been in the area for about a day and a half when the girl disappeared.

A helicopter was deployed Thursday evening to assist in the search, and officials hoped to resume aerial efforts on Friday morning. The rugged and isolated terrain has posed challenges for search crews, prompting officials to ask members of the public not to attempt to assist in the search out of safety concerns.

“The search area would take more than a day to reach on foot and poses risks such as getting lost or injured,” Crowley told KSL reporters. Due to the area’s remoteness, search dogs were not immediately deployed, though Crowley noted that bringing in specially-trained canines by air remained an option.

The search remains active, and updates will be provided as more information becomes available.