For the second time in less than a week, a female hiker has been found dead near a popular hiking trail at one of the Bay Area’s most scenic spots.
A sheriff's deputy made the discovery at Mount Tamalpais State Park early Thursday evening after a concerned father reported his daughter missing.
Authorities say Marie Sanner, 50, of Mill Valley, was found dead in a drainage area.
She was last seen near the Mountain Home Inn a mile east of the Pantoll Ranger Station, where 33-year-old Magdalena Glinkowski was last seen on March 30, authorities said. Glinkowski’s body was found April 12.
Sanner’s car was found in a parking lot across from the Mountain Home Inn on Panoramic Highway. Her body was found close by.
At this point, investigators say both cases appear to be horrible accidents.
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“She went hiking (Wednesday) with a friend and her dog some time … after dark,” sheriff's Lt. Doug Pittman said. “The two separated from one another, she left with the dog to return to her car here in the parking lot.”
The Marin County Sheriff’s office doesn’t know why the pair split up, but investigators do know Sanner didn’t make it back to her car.
But her dog did. Thursday morning, a hiker spotted the dog alone and called the number on its tag.
Pittman said Sanner’s father said his and the dog were “inseparable,” so “he knew something was wrong.”
Sanner’s father reported his daughter missing around 2:30 p.m. on Thursday. It took the sheriff’s department about an hour later to find Sanner’s body once the search began.
The body was found about an eighth of a mile away from Sanner’s car, above the Panoramic Highway in what authorities say is a wet, slippery area.
Investigators say there are no signs of trauma and it’s possible the woman fell down a slick 30-foot hillside.
It’s the second woman’s body found on Mt. Tam in less than a week. Glinkowski, of Menlo Park, went missing about a mile away on March 30. After days of searching, her body was found near the Bootjack parking lot.
The sheriff's department said her body did not show signs of trauma. Toxicology test results are pending.
The sheriff's department is not linking the two cases at this point. They are waiting for a positive ID on the body to be sure it’s Sanner.
Investigators say, at this point, there is no cause for alarm.
“Both of these very possibly are nothing but a terrible accident,” Pittman said.
Sanner’s father is in close contact with the sheriff's department, waiting to find out if the body found is in fact his daughter.
