Army drone that vanished on flight found stuck in a tree

A Shadow drone at Fort Huachuca in 2005. (A. E. Araiza/Arizona Daily Star via AP)

An Army drone that disappeared on a training flight in southern Arizona turned up hundreds of miles away in Colorado, stuck in a tree, and the military is trying to figure out how it got there.

A hiker spotted the Shadow drone in the foothills west of Denver on Thursday, officials at Fort Huachuca in Arizona told the Colorado Springs Gazette.

The $1.5 million drone was missing a wing, The Associated Press reported. "An investigation into what happened is the next step," Fort Huachuca spokeswoman Tanja Linton said.

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Soldiers lost contact with the drone at Fort Huachuca nine days earlier. A search failed to find it, and the Army concluded it probably crashed and broke apart in the area.

Gusty winds may have downed the drone, according to the newspaper. It cited data showing strong winds blowing into Colorado from the southwest on Jan. 31, the day the aircraft disappeared.

Officials said the drone was capable of flying for eight or nine hours.

Soldiers from Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state had gone to the Arizona post to train with the aircraft.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.