MISSOULA — The body of a Colorado nurse was found Sunday afternoon in Missoula.
It had been more than two weeks since 33-year-old Danit Ehrlich had disappeared at a dog park along the Clark Fork River.
Police believed Ehrlich drowned in the Clark Fork River but were unable to find her body or her dog until a 911 call led them to her.
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The discovery came just hours after her family held a memorial for her in Florida.
"She was a lovely, lovely girl. She really, she touched people," said Ehrlich's father, Simon Ehrlich.
There were few things Ehrlich loved more than her dog, Bamba.
"Her dog was her life. Her dog was her life," said Simon. "They traveled together, they hiked together."
Simon Ehrlich said his Miami-bred daughter moved to Denver after falling in love with Colorado.
"She fell in love with the mountains. She took the dogs for hikes all the time. She spent time in tents with her boyfriend. She fell in love with the state," Simon said.
The 33-year-old nurse worked at Lutheran Hospital before taking up travel nursing.
Last month, she and Bamba left for a job in Tacoma, Washington, but they never made it.
"We started making phone calls to her, and she didn't answer," Simon said. "Something is wrong."
Police in Missoula said Ehrlich was last seen on Feb. 21 at a dog park near the University of Montana. Simon believes Ehrlich jumped or fell into the icy Clark Fork River while chasing after Bamba.
"We have her last steps in the snow with the steps of the dog," Simon said.
The Missoula community rallied around missing Ehrlich, holding a candlelight vigil for her and calling for safety changes at the dog park during winter months.
"The community and the sheriff and the police. I don't have enough good words to praise those people," Simon said.
Extensive searches failed to find Ehrlich or Bamba.
"A roller coaster. It's a roller coaster," Simon said.
When Missoula police announced they believed Ehrlich had drowned, Simon feared it would be months before he could lay his daughter to rest.
"My wife and I believe that we will bring her home," Simon said. "We are not giving up. We have to bring her home."
But Sunday, someone spotted a body in the Clark Fork River.
First responders recovered the body and a preliminary coroner's exam confirmed it to be Ehrlich.
Bamba has not been found.
Ehrlich's boyfriend shared the following statement with CBS Colorado:
"It hurts really bad to know my love, my soulmate isn't here… I didn't realize how much I was hanging on to the small sliver of hope I had about her possibly being alive. It brings closure and it brings a sense of finality. It's broken me to know the truth… she was the love of my life, she was the most beautiful woman and caring woman I've ever known. She has an amazing family… She was loved so loudly in death. So many of us will carry Danit and her love of animals and her friends with us. Pictures can only do so much justice to the amazing spirit that she was."
The painful discovery brings closure to a grieving family, who can finally bring home the daughter who died protecting a loved one.
"We as parents, we are not surprised that she just jumped in. Don't even think twice. That's my dog. That's my baby," Simon said.
An online petition has been started to implement seasonal river risk signage at Jacob's Island Dog Park.
Loved ones had also started an online fundraiser for future search efforts for Ehrlich.
Simon said the funds will now be donated to a local charity or used to create a memorial or dog park in Ehrlich's name.
