Search Efforts Continue For Third Day For Missing Man On Longs Peak In Rocky Mountain National Park

Search efforts continued yesterday in Rocky Mountain National Park for Lucas Macaj, 23, of Colorado Springs, Colorado. Team members have been reviewing aerial reconnaissance photos taken on May 13, for any possible clues. Ground teams skied into the Hunter’s Creek drainage to the base of Keplinger’s Coulier. A dog team searched the Longs Peak Trail to Battle Mountain Junction. A third team reached the park’s Chasm Shelter near Chasm Lake to glass the Loft and other areas between Longs Peak and Mount Meeker. They planned to overnight in the shelter and then will climb the Clark’s Arrow Route to the top of Keplinger’s Coulier this morning.

Yesterday morning, aircraft from the Colorado Army National Guard conducted additional aerial reconnaissance in Keplinger’s Coulier and the Loft as well as the Keyhole Route. Low clouds at roughly 12,700 feet hampered visibility.

Teams were unable to be safely inserted via helicopter yesterday in the Loft area and the Keyhole Route on Longs Peak due to strong winds, white out conditions and low visibility. Yesterday, search members snowshoed above Black Lake and glassed the area below The Trough and The Ledges. No clues were found in this area.

Macaj was reported overdue late Sunday night after attempting to summit Longs Peak on Sunday, May 12. Early Monday morning rangers confirmed his vehicle was still parked at the Longs Peak Trailhead. Macaj was last heard from at approximately 1 p.m. Sunday, May 12, when he texted a friend indicating that he was on the summit of Longs Peak. Significant storms moved through high elevations in the park Sunday afternoon.

Macaj started from the Longs Peak Trailhead early Sunday, to summit Longs Peak via the Keyhole Route. He is likely wearing a dark colored top, tan or brown pants, khaki-colored boots, and a black backpack. He may also be wearing a beanie and dark colored gloves. Macaj is described as 5’9,” 155 pounds, with brown hair and green eyes.

Search efforts on Monday included air reconnaissance, a heat sensing fixed-wing flight and ground teams on the Longs Peak Trail to the Ledges on the Keyhole Route. Search efforts also took place on the Boulder Brook Trail. Air reconnaissance has focused on the Keyhole Route including The Ledges, The Trough, The Narrows, The Homestretch and the saddle between Longs Peak and Mount Meeker as well as the Loft and Keplinger's Coulier. Park rangers are also continuing investigations.

Assisting Rocky Mountain National Park Search and Rescue Team members with air reconnaissance Monday included Flight for Life Air Ambulance and aircraft from the State of Colorado Department of Fire Prevention and Control (DFPC) including a fixed wing aircraft outfitted with infrared and color sensors and a helitak crew for helicopter air reconnaissance. Colorado Army National Guard assisted with aerial reconnaissance today. Also assisting today were the Colorado Search and Rescue Association (CSAR), and Search and Rescue Dogs of the United States, Larimer County SAR Dog Team, assisted by Boulder County Sheriff Dog Team.

If you have information that could help investigators, if you may have seen Lucas Macaj, or if you were in the areas listed above on May 12, please contact us. You don't have to tell us who you are, but please tell us what you know. CALL the National Park Service Investigative Services Bureau Tip Line 888-653-0009, ONLINE form www.nps.gov/ISB



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Check out our online trail guides:

• Glacier National Park: HikinginGlacier.com

• Grand Teton National Park: TetonHikingTrails.com

• Rocky Mountain National Park: RockyMountainHikingTrails.com