UPDATE | Thursday 10 p.m. — The family of Joy Cipoletti, the woman who went missing while hiking in the Zapata Falls and Ellingwood Point area of Alamosa County, said she has died.
The family shared a statement wit the Alamosa Sheriff's Office: “It is with the heaviest of hearts that the Cipoletti family says goodbye to our amazing Joy, who we love beyond words. Joy's strength and love of life impacted everyone who knew her. She played a deeply caring, active role in the lives of her three children, parents, three sisters and four brothers. As an avid hiker and outdoor adventurer, nature was Joy's happy place.
She shared this love of the Colorado outdoors with many people in her life. Our hearts are broken by this sudden loss of our dear Joy.
Our family would like to thank the Alamosa Volunteer Search and Rescue, the Alamosa County Sheriff's Department and the dozens of other amazing search and rescue volunteers and professionals who dedicated their time and expertise to search for and eventually find Joy. We can't begin to show our appreciation and gratitude for how you searched for our Joy with the determination and care that you would show as if she were a member of your family. You are heroes to us and we are forever grateful to each and every one of you.”
No other details are available on the details of her death.
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ALAMOSA COUNTY, Colo. — Authorities in Alamosa County are searching for an overdue hiker who was hiking in the Zapata Falls and Ellingwood Point area — near the Great Sand Dunes National Park — on Saturday.
The Alamosa County Sheriff’s Office and Alamosa Volunteer Search and Rescue say they have started searches for Joy Cipoletti, 60. She was last heard from on Oct. 10 at 3 p.m.
Authorities don't have an exact location of where she was hiking, but she was in the area of Zapata Falls, the South Zapata lake trail, and Ellingwood Point, which is a 14,042-foot mountain in the area. There is some snow at higher elevations in the area. This is east and southeast of the Great Sand Dunes National Park.
Cipoletti was last seen wearing a light purple or green jacket and may be wearing a white hat. She is 5 feet, 3 inches tall and 140 pounds. She has curly brown and gray hair.
If you see or saw Cipoletti, call Colorado State Patrol at 719-589-5807 or search and rescue at 773-456-2927.
