Lost Hikers on Missouri

[thevagabond]

Autopsy results suggest some type of fall.. Still a bit mysterious to me.


http://denver.cbslocal.com/2011/07/04/g ... el-makana/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[shaunster_co]

http://denver.cbslocal.com/2011/07/02/m ... ng-hikers/

The video gives a good idea of where the bodies were found.

That's odd, the story above says "Authorities say it didn’t appear that the two had taken a fall."

Yet the report below states "Coroner Randy Amettis called 7NEWS after he finished the autopsies on Monday.
'Dr. Michael von Gortler and his daughter, Makana, both died from blunt-force trauma injuries to the head and neck,' Amettis said."

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/28 ... etail.html

I don't even want to speculate, just thought the contradiction was interesting.

[mike_kadow]

http://denver.cbslocal.com/2011/07/02/m ... ng-hikers/

The video gives a good idea of where the bodies were found.

That's odd, the story above says "Authorities say it didn’t appear that the two had taken a fall."

Yet the report below states "Coroner Randy Amettis called 7NEWS after he finished the autopsies on Monday.
'Dr. Michael von Gortler and his daughter, Makana, both died from blunt-force trauma injuries to the head and neck,' Amettis said."

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/28 ... etail.html

I don't even want to speculate, just thought the contradiction was interesting.

Media.

[mtnview]

If my memory serves me right the last section on the standard trail to the ridge is very steep.

[coloradokevin]

9news is now saying that a fall was the cause of death for the climbers on Missouri:

http://www.9news.com/news/article/20636 ... ssouri-Mtn" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Mel McKinney]

How tragic. My thoughts are with the family.

I've been following the news on the Denver Channel link. I don't understand the theories on foul play that people are posting on the site. It appears to be a tragic accident and nothing more. Regardless the loss of anyone in the backcountry is always horrible news.

[OnyourLeft]

My wife and kids camped on the Clear Creek Canyon this weekend near Missouri and were thinking of the missing hikers as we camped and hiked. Driving in on Saturday we saw the staging area for the SAR and immediately new what they were there for. On Sunday we noticed they were gone and assumed the worse. Later we found out the Doc and his daughter were tragically found deceased. To me, this is especially a sad incident considering it involves a father and daughter team.

[MtHurd]

"There was a lot of snow with crust on it [on the mountain] when they were," Palmer said. "When searchers found them, conditions were different."

They were found in a "significant snow field," Palmer said.

Their bodies were found at about 12,000 feet, a mile from the summit.

A helicopter was used to retrieve the bodies from the steep, grassy area.

According to Hans von Gortler, his brother was on the trail and had already reached the summit. He told 9NEWS rescuers informed the family Michael and Makana appeared to be descending and were 200 feet from the summit when they fell.

Terrible writing here, but it almost sounds like they believe when they fell they were on crusty snow, but in the 10 days it took to find them it melted and they were on grass. And since his brother said they had already reached the summit and were descending, they must have tried a more direct descent down rather than going back on the trail. This may indicate an uncontrolled fall on a snow field.

http://www.9news.com/news/article/20636 ... ssouri-Mtn" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[--bb--]

Very sad and unfortunate incident. Thanks to SAR and volunteers for helping locate and recover the pair. Certainly not the news anyone wanted to hear. RIP and healing thoughts for family and loved ones.

[jfrenzen]

Being relatively new to this site, I had a question...

Is it common for a "final report" to be released by SAR or for something more detailed than relying on shotty reports by the media? I believe it's important to respect the family's privacy in these situations, but there is always a wealth of information to learn from these tragedies. Just curious if we ever hear anything more official and accurate.

[tmathews]

Is it common for a "final report" to be released by SAR or for something more detailed than relying on shotty reports by the media? I believe it's important to respect the family's privacy in these situations, but there is always a wealth of information to learn from these tragedies. Just curious if we ever hear anything more official and accurate.

Often times the SAR agencies involved will publish a final summary of their missions on their websites. We've also had family members register on the forum after finding threads here (probably through googling the deceased's names) that will sometimes give a summation of the information provided to them.

[MtHurd]

We really need to know the spot where the bodies were found to better understand what happened. 200' from the summit puts you near the top of the C couliour and that tricky area discussed in this thread.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=19673&hilit=missouri

Some people have avoided the tricky area by going on the other side. But that would put the bodies in the bowl at the bottom of the north face and around the 12,000 - 12,500 elevation mentioned in news reports. Was there grass there this weekend?

Here is a comment from that topic.

That area to me was a little exciting in the hard snow! I took my time and kicked good steps which others would use and improve. I had a nice stiff mountaineering boot so I got by without crampons. Even though I had crampons in my pack, I never really felt the need to put them on and I was comfortable without them. But there would be no way that I would attempt that in the snow without my ice axe. Just my two cents... Good luck and be safe if you go!