Missing Delta County Woman’s Body Found in Uncompahgre National Forest

The body of the woman who has been missing since leaving a Montrose bowling alley on July 15 has been found.

The Mesa County Sheriff's Office received word late Tuesday (August 2) that family members who were searching the area where Mary Finnegan's car was found had located her body.

A tip from some ranchers who were traveling on a four-wheel-drive road saw something and contacted family members who were camping and searching the area. The ranchers were not part of the search.

When family members arrived at the location the ranchers described, they found Finnegan's jacket and her body about 50 yards off of the roadway under a tree in an area covered with thick brush.

Finnegan's body was found approximately three miles from where her car was abandoned off Divide Road near the Mesa-Montrose County line, and about a mile from the initial staging area of the search.

Mesa County Sheriff Matt Lewis said,

Our hearts go out to Mary's family who worked tirelessly alongside our searchers and remained in the area even after we suspended our search operations. Although this is not the outcome we wanted, I hope this will bring some level of closure to all of Mary Finnegan's family and friends."

Search crews of 40 to 60 people from several agencies, family, friends, and volunteers who were familiar with the area spent five days after Finnegan's car was found searching the area eventually suspending the search after failing to find any trace of Finnegan.