MISSING CLIMBER: Maroon Bells, Bells traverse, Pyramid

[MountainRescue Aspen]

Press Release

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kYJ ... WD85w/edit

[SharonH]

We hiked up to Crater Lake on Monday evening, 26 September. Having been away for a week, we were unaware of the search for the missing climber. We did not see any posters or fliers with Mr. Cook's photo and information at the Ranger Entrance Station or at the Maroon Lake parking lot areas or signs. Also, none of the rangers we encountered on the trail made any mention of a missing climber. Written or verbal information to be on the lookout would have been useful for us, and perhaps for the people riding the buses up to Maroon Lake.

[MountainRescue Aspen]

Updated Press Release

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1g0L ... xRXrY/edit" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Tawanda]

I saw him around 11am at the Silver Bells campground. I was just setting up my camp. I believe it was him . Black older jeep and wearing dark shirt. Said hello to him at the restroom which is next to campsite 13. After using the restroom, he drove away and I never saw him again. I so hope he is found and I have spoke with pitikin county sherrif.

[mtngoatwithstyle]

I just read on the following link to Facebook's page "Dave Cook Search & Rescue Maroon Bells" that the search has been suspended due to exhaustion of resources... so heartbreaking. My prayers are with all family and relative members.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1811039 ... 7336628552" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[chicagostylehotdog]

I just read on the following link to Facebook's page "Dave Cook Search & Rescue Maroon Bells" that the search has been suspended due to exhaustion of resources... so heartbreaking. My prayers are with all family and relative members.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1811039 ... 7336628552" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Here's a direct link to the press release.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VTg ... NF6sQ/edit" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[jscully]

I hope this guy is found. My heart is broken for his family, can't imagine what they are going through. I ask myself where could have he gone? Im sure they searched high and low on all 3 peaks in the area on the standard routes and possible off route areas. It seems to me that they could get a copter close enough to get a good 360 vantage point around the entire mountain. I'm sure SAR know the common places a climber may get in trouble and have also searched those areas. Could he have gone a route no man has gone before? Could he be trapped under some rocks? Is he in even in the area? Im of the opinion that they need to do a heat signature on the area and see what they come up with. Seems to me if that if that's an viable option, then that's the only option remaining. Maybe not be practical, may be a negative result, whose knows? but its with a worth a try to possibly save a life.

[mtn_nut]

I hope this guy is found. My heart is broken for his family, can't imagine what they are going through. I ask myself where could have he gone? Im sure they searched high and low on all 3 peaks in the area on the standard routes and possible off route areas. It seems to me that they could get a copter close enough to get a good 360 vantage point around the entire mountain. I'm sure SAR know the common places a climber may get in trouble and have also searched those areas. Could he have gone a route no man has gone before? Could he be trapped under some rocks? Is he in even in the area? Im of the opinion that they need to do a heat signature on the area and see what they come up with. Seems to me if that if that's an viable option, then that's the only option remaining. Maybe not be practical, may be a negative result, whose knows? but its with a worth a try to possibly save a life.

Not to be offensive but if he's out there, its been so long since he went missing that there isn't much of a chance of finding a heat signature, if you catch my drift. Its been almost 10 days since any reported sighting, and with a few storms that have gone through the area and sub freezing nights every night, I think at this point its a recovery mission, which i hope gives closure to loved ones and family if successful. A person could survive that long on water alone if prepared and non-hypothermic, but its unlikely. I hope there is a happy ending, but chances of that are razor thin right now.

I hope a take away from this is more people might consider carrying a backcountry communicator (resqlink, delorme, spot, etc). I started carrying a delorme a few months ago after carrying a resqlink for years, and it came in handy when i found a lady i didn't know with a broken ankle on the slopes of Rainier. She was airlifted within 2 hours of sending out a SOS message. If I had not been able to text for help with the delorme, she would have spent the night on the mountainside due to the late hour and park not flying helicopters at night since it would have take a few hours on foot to reach someone that could have called or radioed for extraction. I also hope that people will get a CORSAR card (https://dola.colorado.gov/sar/orderInstructions.jsf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) that helps fund rescue missions like this.

[jscully]

I hope this guy is found. My heart is broken for his family, can't imagine what they are going through. I ask myself where could have he gone? Im sure they searched high and low on all 3 peaks in the area on the standard routes and possible off route areas. It seems to me that they could get a copter close enough to get a good 360 vantage point around the entire mountain. I'm sure SAR know the common places a climber may get in trouble and have also searched those areas. Could he have gone a route no man has gone before? Could he be trapped under some rocks? Is he in even in the area? Im of the opinion that they need to do a heat signature on the area and see what they come up with. Seems to me if that if that's an viable option, then that's the only option remaining. Maybe not be practical, may be a negative result, whose knows? but its with a worth a try to possibly save a life.

Not to be offensive but if he's out there, its been so long since he went missing that there isn't much of a chance of finding a heat signature, if you catch my drift. Its been almost 10 days since any reported sighting, and with a few storms that have gone through the area and sub freezing nights every night, I think at this point its a recovery mission, which i hope gives closure to loved ones and family if successful. A person could survive that long on water alone if prepared and non-hypothermic, but its unlikely. I hope there is a happy ending, but chances of that are razor thin right now.

I hope a take away from this is more people might consider carrying a backcountry communicator (resqlink, delorme, spot, etc). I started carrying a delorme a few months ago after carrying a resqlink for years, and it came in handy when i found a lady i didn't know with a broken ankle on the slopes of Rainier. She was airlifted within 2 hours of sending out a SOS message. If I had not been able to text for help with the delorme, she would have spent the night on the mountainside due to the late hour and park not flying helicopters at night since it would have take a few hours on foot to reach someone that could have called or radioed for extraction. I also hope that people will get a CORSAR card (https://dola.colorado.gov/sar/orderInstructions.jsf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) that helps fund rescue missions like this.

Mtn_nut,

You're talking like its over and I understand at this point it may be unlikely that this guy may be found, but I believe that all hope cannot be given up until a body is found and that can be confirmed. Logic says that this guy has to be somewhere in the areas where he decided to climb. They're are a lot of possibilities at this point and I wouldn't rule out anything. This guy is a Marine and is trained to cope with minimal sleep, food, and being in extremely uncomfortable situations. I believe his mental fortitude would carry him though this situation if he didn't succumb to hypothermia. You can survive a week on water. 3 weeks is when you usually die of starvation. The point is that search should continue on until unwise.

[Redshift83]

I hope this guy is found. My heart is broken for his family, can't imagine what they are going through. I ask myself where could have he gone? Im sure they searched high and low on all 3 peaks in the area on the standard routes and possible off route areas. It seems to me that they could get a copter close enough to get a good 360 vantage point around the entire mountain. I'm sure SAR know the common places a climber may get in trouble and have also searched those areas. Could he have gone a route no man has gone before? Could he be trapped under some rocks? Is he in even in the area? Im of the opinion that they need to do a heat signature on the area and see what they come up with. Seems to me if that if that's an viable option, then that's the only option remaining. Maybe not be practical, may be a negative result, whose knows? but its with a worth a try to possibly save a life.

Not to be offensive but if he's out there, its been so long since he went missing that there isn't much of a chance of finding a heat signature, if you catch my drift. Its been almost 10 days since any reported sighting, and with a few storms that have gone through the area and sub freezing nights every night, I think at this point its a recovery mission, which i hope gives closure to loved ones and family if successful. A person could survive that long on water alone if prepared and non-hypothermic, but its unlikely. I hope there is a happy ending, but chances of that are razor thin right now.

I hope a take away from this is more people might consider carrying a backcountry communicator (resqlink, delorme, spot, etc). I started carrying a delorme a few months ago after carrying a resqlink for years, and it came in handy when i found a lady i didn't know with a broken ankle on the slopes of Rainier. She was airlifted within 2 hours of sending out a SOS message. If I had not been able to text for help with the delorme, she would have spent the night on the mountainside due to the late hour and park not flying helicopters at night since it would have take a few hours on foot to reach someone that could have called or radioed for extraction. I also hope that people will get a CORSAR card (https://dola.colorado.gov/sar/orderInstructions.jsf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) that helps fund rescue missions like this.

Mtn_nut,

You're talking like its over and I understand at this point it may be unlikely that this guy may be found, but I believe that all hope cannot be given up until a body is found and that can be confirmed. Logic says that this guy has to be somewhere in the areas where he decided to climb. They're are a lot of possibilities at this point and I wouldn't rule out anything. This guy is a Marine and is trained to cope with minimal sleep, food, and being in extremely uncomfortable situations. I believe his mental fortitude would carry him though this situation if he didn't succumb to hypothermia. You can survive a week on water. 3 weeks is when you usually die of starvation. The point is that search should continue on until unwise.

Beyond all of the logic Mtn_nut wrote (which is extremely valid), moutain rescue aspen has hitech infrared googles for heat signatures (I know they've wanted to use them in an avalanche situation). The suggestion that something hasn't been done to find this individual is false. A ton of effort has been put in to finding Dave Cook, and all available resources have been used. I can't tell you specifically when and how, but I'm 100% positive they've used advanced heat detection systems of one form or another during their helo flights.

[Doug Shaw]

The point is that search should continue on until unwise.

I was a SAR volunteer for about 13 years (not with Mountain Rescue Aspen, so I'm in no way claiming to speak for them) and I'd like to comment a bit on this based on my own experiences.

There's a world of information you may not know about when and how SAR teams make a decision to suspend a search. I assure you it isn't a case of "well, we hiked the trails for a couple days and didn't find him so let's all go home."

MRA's decision to suspend is likely a combination of statistical likelihood of finding him coupled with the recognition that the majority of their resources are volunteer - people who are taking time away from work, family, and their lives to help search. This time and effort are given freely by the volunteers - but it's important to recognize that this can't be sustained indefinitely. Add to this that the longer you put searchers in dangerous terrain like the Bells the higher the odds become of having a rescuer become injured, complicating the whole scenario - now there are two subjects and at best you've got to divert some resources to a second rescue.

Though it sounds cold and emotionless, a large part of SAR activity is driven by statistics. There are formulas they use to calculate the odds of finding a subject or signs of a subject in a given area. They continually revise these formulas over time to accommodate new information or new data that becomes available.

If they had strong indications that he was in a specific area they'd scour it pretty extensively - but it sounds like they didn't even know if he was on the Bells, or Pyramid, or where. That's gnarly terrain - you can't just send anybody in there and say "go look at those cliffs over there." And it's large enough area that you can't practically just say "let's search it all". A person is an unimaginably tiny speck against the background of wilderness. Even their search army of 80 people the other day probably just scratched the surface searching in that sort of terrain - they likely took whatever statistics they'd built and tried to focus those people in areas of higher probabilities (inasmuch as they could calculate them).

(As an unrelated example to highlight the insignificance of a person in the wilderness, consider this picture in which I am standing in a fairly open area, wearing an orange shirt, no less. Can you find me? Notice anything else in the picture?)

In addition to MRA's field search of the Bells area, the Pitkin County Sheriff's Office was certainly also exploring other options like looking for his credit cards to be used in other areas, etc. I'm not suggesting that he would have faked his own disappearance, I'm just saying that in this sort of circumstance that's a pretty common action to take just to cover all the bases.

They know he was last seen around Maroon Lake on Tuesday, but beyond that it sounds like they really don't have any strong indications of where he might be or where he might have gone after that.

I didn't even hear that they found his tent; could he have packed up and moved further in or decided to go for some other mountains? Decided to try the four pass loop or something? I don't know. Maybe SAR does... maybe not - though their main effort is always to try to identify situations like that.

For a week they had people scouring the area and (presumably) helicopters buzzing around the mountain, and I assure you those people were yelling his name at the top of their lungs trying to find him. If he was in the area and in any sort of shape to respond, it seems likely someone would have heard him yelling for help or responding to their calls for him. Going that long with no responses or indications of where he may be is not an encouraging sign.

From past experience, my guess would be that Mr. Cook will be found by hikers or climbers at some point in the future. It's an unfortunate truth but despite the best efforts of SAR, the general recreational population just getting out all over the place - and the passage of time - is almost always going to cover a larger amount of terrain than an organized search effort in a discrete time frame.

[gsliva]

Wow I can't find you in the picture. I see the helicopter.

I've been involved in a couple searches and this post is spot on. Mystery and near misses motivate the altruistic volunteers. Lots of great people out there like Doug. Thanks guy and all of us need to pay attention to hikers, you never know when it might happen to you.

I read the book: https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Person-Beha ... 1879471396" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Lost Persons Behavior. I don't think Mr Cook is lost. Something else happened. He's an experienced tough military guy. Strong minded and strong body and overall fabulous person.

Last known position near Maroon Lake which means he went somewhere else from there, not his car. Pretty basic is to search near LKP and according to his last known plans which was to summit a few peaks. SAR is very good at this, they've seen it many times. When they put military assets into the backcountry they're organized and prepared very very well.

Great Post and thanks for your service with SAR. Hope this guy is just banged up and hunkered down. The weather is survivable right now but not much longer. I hope he walks out with a great story for all of us to learn and remember. My personal story is always carry a SPOT and or some signal device that works in the backcountry. Hoping for a miracle ending really a new beginning. Sounds like a great guy as you are Doug. High five.