UPDATE: 11/15/2018 0700 PST
Authorities believe they have discovered the body of a missing Front Range man near a cabin in the Steamboat Lake area of North Routt County, reports the Steamboat Pilot.
The 66-year-old man was last heard from Nov. 4, and family members contacted law enforcement Saturday, Nov. 10 because the family believed he might be at a property the family owns near Steamboat Lake. Routt County Sheriff’s Office deputies found the man’s vehicle on the property Saturday.
Search and Rescue volunteers then searched for the man on Saturday and Sunday but were unsuccessful, after which the search was called off due to weather conditions. Undersheriff Doug Scherar said plans were made to have a cadaver dog help with the search, but it was not needed after a Classic Air Medical helicopter agreed to search the area Wednesday.
Scherar said the helicopter crew discovered what they thought was a body, and Search and Rescue volunteers then helped recover it. The body was located about 2,000 feet up a mountain across from the Steamboat Lake State Park Visitors Center and near the family’s cabin.
Routt County Coroner Rob Ryg arrived at the scene and will be responsible for identifying the man and his cause of death.
Authorities have called off a search in the Steamboat Lake, CO area for a 66-year-old man from the Front Range missing since last Saturday, reports Summit Daily.
“With the resources that we have and with the conditions that are up there, we have searched all probable areas,” said Kristia Check-Hill, the Routt County Search and Rescue volunteer who served as incident commander. “Until we have further information, we will not be going back into the field.”
The man was last heard from on Saturday, Nov. 3, Check-Hill said, but family members only contacted local law enforcement Saturday, Nov. 10, because they believed the man could be on some family property near Steamboat Lake. Steamboat Lake is about 30-miles north of Steamboat Ski Area near the Colorado/Wyoming border.
Routt County Sheriff’s Office deputies located the man’s vehicle on the property Saturday. At 1:15 pm Saturday, a team of five Search and Rescue volunteers set out looking for the man in areas near the recovered vehicle. They returned to town at 5:40 pm after poor conditions in the field made the search dangerous, Check-Hill said, before adding that the safety of Search and Rescue volunteers is a priority.
“It’s hard to search in the conditions that we were up against — 10 inches of snow as it is and low visibility — but you put darkness on top of that, and you can’t see what’s even underneath your feet, so it does no good to be searching,” she said.
At 8:15 am Sunday, eight volunteers set out to comb additional areas mentioned by the family and other areas where they believed the man could be. Search and Rescue returned Sunday evening as conditions again worsened.
The family will continue to look for the man, Check-Hill said, though Search and Rescue warned them to be wary of the poor weather conditions. The family was instructed to report any clues to the man’s location to law enforcement.
