Lost Hiker on Mt Holy Cross

[gsliva]

He may have missed the fork to Fancy Pass and is wondering around the Missouri Lakes Area. I hope they check out that area.

[gsliva]

Sorry. I meant the fork at Treasure Vault not Fancy Pass. That area is beautiful. I hope this has a happy ending. I would think he has all the gear and is able to survive for several weeks. It's a lot of area to cover but they are going to find him or he will walk out on his own. I'm sending positive encouraging thoughts....

[Chicago Transplant]

The rescue teams have been through all of his proposed route and have also ran the entire Halo Ridge route and have explored the area around Bowl of Tears and Lake Patricia. They have also expanded out into areas like Holy Cross City and Missouri Lakes. They are still out there looking for him today and doing all that they can to help find James. Even trying to expand to other drainages in case he went over a ridge on the west side of Cross Creek, which could lead him to Edwards or Minturn if he followed it out. Unlikely if he is using his GPS, but they want to exhaust all options.

Someone earlier asked about the Bermuda Triangle effect and where people go wrong on a summit descent, below is an image I took from Mt Jackson that shows the west side of Holy Cross. What most people do is go down straight instead of following back right (north) when they descend. As you can see, you really only go down for about the top 250-300 feet before you pick up the north ridge at the top of Angelica Couloir. On that initial descent just stay as close to the right as you can without getting into the cliffs and you can start to find the ridge before you get too low.

[Yikes]

In larger cases, the incident command will probably not be SAR but instead the Sheriff Dept. In the case of searching for Gary Lorentz in Cotopaxi, there were numerous groups (Chaffee Cty SAR, Fremont Cty SAR, Chaffee Cty Sheriff, Fremont Cty Sheriff, friends, family, boy scouts, knitting clubs, etc). Our SAR would not actively recruit non-members for a search due to liability issues. In that case, the Sheriff was responsible for SAR and coordinating the efforts of non-SAR groups.

(I don't know if Vail SAR is IC)

[peter303]

The news article insinuated a cell phone would be helpful. Much of the HC hike is in valleys where
there is probably no coverage. And you cant always count on the phone working in severe weather
after many days.

[Mel McKinney]

Washington hiker here. Does SAR really let people walk up and join the search? I'm not SAR but I think SAR and the Sheriff would turn away anyone who wasn't part of a certified SAR group.

http://www.vaildaily.com/article/201010 ... ofile=1062

Above is an article yesterday. They are discouraging people from searching on their own. It was explained to me by a SAR member that the more people that are out there, the more it screws with the scents that the search dogs pick up. Vail SAR also has volunteers from other Colorado SARs taking part (like Clear Creek, Summit, Garfield and others).

[tenpins]

folks as a general rule the designated SAR teams hesitate to take untrained and unexperienced people along with them. Believe it or not, a "simple search" like this requires experience by the ground searchers to be the most effective. Consider that they are not looking for the person, they are looking for clues. fresh footprint, a cigarette pack, even a cathole. Searches are very deliberate and planned, and must be well controlled and coordinated. Support is usually another story. If you have a vehicle that can help shuttle folks around, can bring hot chow and drinks, even offer a place for out of county teams to stay for the night - that is awesome and always very much appreciated!
When the news says "VMRG is requesting help" - that means they have put in a formal request to the Colorado State Rescue Board to assemble more resources. CSRB tracks available SAR resources for the state, 24/365.

I camped just up the road by homestake reservoir last weekend. Nighttime low was 31. Best wishes to the subject.

[Tigerbear]

A few years back, my husband and I were doing a backpack loop in holy cross wilderness. We had two people who spent the night with us after descending the very route described in this forum ( in the pic). They went into the Cross Creek drainage, then walked 5 miles UPSTREAM and found us having dinner. Needless to say, they spent the night with us and walked 12 miles out to the TH the next day. They had no food, rain gear or water left. I hope this can help in the search efforts. They claimed they went over several cliff bands and thought Cross Creek was East Cross creek.

[Spoke537]

I just saw a picture of the missing Holy Cross hiker, James, on 9 news. I saw him on Oct 3 as I descended Holy Cross on the Fall Creek Trail at the intersection with the Notch Mtn trail. I even asked him if I was headed in the right direction for the Half Moon Trailhead. He continued on the Fall Creek Trail and did not start the ascent up the Notch Mtn Trail. He was a big guy with an orange shirt and and fully loaded multiday pack. I doubt I can be of much help now but maybe I can at least offer a final sighting that he was indeed out there. Sure hope he's alright and they find him soon.

Les

[Mountainspirit]

I just saw a picture of the missing Holy Cross hiker, James, on 9 news. I saw him on Oct 3 as I descended Holy Cross on the Fall Creek Trail at the intersection with the Notch Mtn trail. I even asked him if I was headed in the right direction for the Half Moon Trailhead. He continued on the Fall Creek Trail and did not start the ascent up the Notch Mtn Trail. He was a big guy with an orange shirt and and fully loaded multiday pack. I doubt I can be of much help now but maybe I can at least offer a final sighting that he was indeed out there. Sure hope he's alright and they find him soon.

Les

Les,
Just to be safe, contact Vail Mountain Rescue at (970) 479-2200 .
Thanks for your efforts!

[BobbyFinn]

Update - search suspended.
http://cbs4denver.com/local/james.nelso ... 59272.html

[highcountryhiker]

It is now being reported by 9News that the search will be suspended at midnight Tuesday (tonight).

The following is from 9News.com:

The Eagle County Sheriff's Office says they have worked with five search and rescue teams over four days, but have not been able to find missing Chicago hiker James Nelson.

"The decision to suspend the search for James was very extremely difficult," Eagle County Sheriff Joe Hoy said in a news release. "Search and rescue teams have scoured all of the terrain that could safely be searched on foot, some of it searched several times, in addition to the extensive aerial search with no results."