Search Efforts for Missing Man in Rocky Mountain National Park Have Been Scaled Back

On Sunday, February 3rd, the backcountry surrounding the Bear Lake area where Troy Green was last seen was again heavily used by park visitors who were snowshoeing and skiing. The saturation of this area by searchers, dog teams, a helicopter, and large numbers of recreational users provided a great deal of coverage but again with no clues.

Search teams on Sunday encountered deep snow and pockets of considerable avalanche conditions. The depth of snow since Thursday has hampered search operations. Aerial searching detected several large slab avalanches on the northeast aspects of peaks along the Divide but with no evidence that they were human triggered.

Last night the park reported that rangers heard from two witnesses who indicated they spoke with Mr. Green at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 31st, at the Bear Lake Trailhead but did not see what direction he went from there. Between witness reports and park rangers' investigation, it is now known that Mr. Green purchased additional gear after he arrived in Colorado. It is possible that he was wearing black snow pants, a black puffy down jacket, black gloves and a black balaclava. He also was seen wearing hiking boots and a royal blue and grey camelback. At the time the two witnesses spoke with him, it was snowing and there were high winds.

Today, search managers are scaling back efforts due to concerns about safety of Search and Rescue personnel and lack of clues and new information. The incident management team is evaluating new search tactics at this time. In the coming days, a small team of rangers will focus their search on pockets of challenging terrain in the Bear Lake and lower Tyndall Gorge areas.

The investigation in ongoing. If anyone was visiting the Bear Lake area of Rocky Mountain National Park on Thursday, January 31, or Friday, February 1, park rangers would like to hear from you. Please call Rocky Mountain National Park at (970) 586-1204.


Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com