‘Heartbreak’ as body of hiking influencer Hannah Moody found near Arizona mountains

A hiking influencer who went missing while trekking at the foot of an Arizona mountain range has been found dead, officials say.

Hannah Moody, 31, was discovered just after midday Thursday at the McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, on the outskirts of Phoenix, by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Air Unit.

Moody, a social media influencer and former dancer originally from California, was found 600 yards off-trail from the parking lot of the Gateway Trailhead: a popular 4.4-mile loop considered “moderately challenging” by AllTrails.

Scottsdale Police Department confirmed the “heartbreaking development” in a social media statement late on Thursday.

“Tragically, Hannah’s body was located by search crews. Our hearts go out to her family and friends,” the department wrote on Facebook.

Moody was first reported missing by concerned friends at 7:50 p.m. on Wednesday after they failed to reach the hiker by cell phone, police said. A missing persons poster described her disappearance as “unexpected and uncharacteristic.”

Officers responded to the Gateway Trailhead, where she was last sighted, to find her car still in the parking lot.

Moody’s body was found following a sweeping search and rescue mission which saw authorities scouring the landscape on foot and bicycle, along with the deployment of drones, a Phoenix Police Department helicopter, and the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office air unit, officials said.

Authorities are now looking to piece together how Moody died, with an investigation underway. There were no “obvious” signs of foul play or trauma, police said.

Moody’s family and friends shared their heartbreak after learning of the hiker’s passing on Thursday.

“My heart aches… I love you, sis,” brother Ethan Moody wrote in a Facebook post. “Joel and I and Mom and Dad and so many others miss you more than words can express.”

“I hope that, in death, she has found the home she sought in life. I just wish I could see her once more. I love you and miss you, Hannah,” her older brother Joel wrote.

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Detailing her fitness journey on Facebook last summer, Moody said that she walked away from dancing at “the club” after nine years and fell in love with amateur bodybuilding. She said she did five shows between 2015 and 2018 and placed fifth in one national competition.

Fellow fitness fan Meg Pasquel posted on her Instagram story that she is “lost for words right now.”

Another friend added: “I love you hannah. I will forever remember you and ur smile. I love how i have videos of you so i can just keep watching.”

“You were a family to me,” she said, along with a collage of photos of them together.

Just days before Moody’s disappearance, who is now a digital creator and restaurant worker, she started a new Instagram series, “Hikes with Han.”

“There can always be something positive in every situation, if you just look for it,” she told her 44,000 followers while trekking through the mountains, sharing her love for sunsets and hikes.

On April 28, Moody posted several photographs taken from her hikes showing that life has been “so good” since moving back to Arizona six months ago. She had previously lived in Charleston, South Carolina.

In another video from late February, Moody reflects on her previous life as a dancer and her Christian faith while walking through the mountains.

“My self 5-6 years ago felt stuck in the club, stuck in a relationship that made me feel insecure, stuck in an identity that was based on the validation & acceptance of others,” she said. “If I only knew where I would be now.”