Popular Hiking Influencer Found Dead Off Scottsdale, Arizona Trail

A 31-year-old woman was found dead about 600 feet off a hiking trail near Scottsdale, Arizona late last month. The deceased was identified as social media influencer Hannah Moody, whose hiking and faith-centric Instagram had about 45,000 followers.

Moody had been reported missing on May 21, sparking an extensive search that ended with the discovery of her remains the following day near the Gateway Loop Trail in Arizona’s McDowell Sonoran Preserve.

When Moody failed to check in with family and friends after her planned hike on the 21st, they reported her missing, saying it was uncharacteristic of her. Search and rescue personnel located her car in the trailhead parking lot, but after four hours of searching on foot, they were unable to find her.

The search resumed the following morning, this time “with 20-plus officers on bicycles, on 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 a Scottsdale Police Department press release. The Maricopa County Air Unit located her body shortly after noon on the 22nd. 

Officials say there were no signs of foul play or trauma but have yet to release an official cause of death. Temperatures were in excess of 100 degrees on the day her body was found, leading some to speculate that it may have been related to extreme heat.

Friends of Moody told Fox 10 that she was an experienced hiker who had completed the Gateway Loop Trail many times before. She had posted about the hike on social media before going missing, writing that she wanted to get one last hike in before summer and reassuring followers that she had “like five gallons of water” with her due to the high temperatures that day.

Mourners gathered at the McDowell Sonoran Preserve on Saturday, what would have been Moody’s 32nd birthday, to honor her memory with a sunrise hike, an activity Moody reportedly treasured in life.

Featured image: The Gateway Loop Trail pictured in October 2023 by Al_HikesAZ