Missing hunters in Colorado

[intunegp]

The outlier in this whole situation that makes it very difficult for me to process using normal logic is the fact that it’s NOT a solo hunter missing. Think about that for a second. 2 6’ 25 year old men, 2 different lives to draw experience or knowledge from, 2 different physical attributes, 2 different phones, 2 different gps’s, two different day packs with the necessities each would carry, this is not what commonly occurs. For these two to vanish so close to the road none of the normal causation makes sense to me.

There was mention of someone hunting nearby to the west that the storms rolled in hard and fast and that they heard large rock slides. I would assume that someone involved in the search could identify what a recent slide looked like, but that still doesn't mean they could easily find them in it.

 

[eddielasvegas]

The outlier in this whole situation that makes it very difficult for me to process using normal logic is the fact that it’s NOT a solo hunter missing. Think about that for a second. 2 6’ 25 year old men, 2 different lives to draw experience or knowledge from, 2 different physical attributes, 2 different phones, 2 different gps’s, two different day packs with the necessities each would carry, this is not what commonly occurs. For these two to vanish so close to the road none of the normal causation makes sense to me.

My thinking too @TexasCub

After almost a week of no contact, it seems close to zero that this is a Search and Rescue now, but a Search and Recovery.

Let's see if the prayers setforth in this thread do their job. I'm hopeful they do.

Anyone remember the thread from a couple years ago of the hunter who disappeared in the AK tundra while taking a short walk from camp with nary a trace. That case is a strange one too, but seems more likely as possible compared to this one.


Eddie

 

[TaperPin]

Young guys like drugs? Really dude.

They like screwing too. Maybe they picked up hookers and they're hiding out... Or maybe we shouldn't wildly speculate at this point.

I met a dude at a bbq who was found in a tree high as a kite when he was in his 20s and had to have search and rescue bring him down. It’s funny now because, well, he was found in a tree high as a kite and no harm done. I know another guy who fell down a 150’ near cliff and almost died while liquored up. Double over doses aren’t that uncommon they just don’t make the news unless they are cute college girls on spring break - ask your local paramedics. The healthy clean cut 30-something dad renting the house next door to me got some stronger stuff than he expected, overdosed, was found by his young son after school, and was taken out in a body bag. Some kids we know well, who have well established oxi habits thought it was a good idea to cliff dive off a new spot they hadn’t checked for submerged rocks. You keep believing impairment doesn’t contribute to the odds of bad things happening, but I don’t have to make stories up in my head, but simply look back at what guys have already done.

 

[KHNC]

Not that hard to understand. They came back down from the wilderness Thurs, stayed at car. Hunted another nearby trailhead Friday am, didn't like it as much and drove back. They where only sending like 1-2 pins back to the fiancé every day as a basic check in.

If I'm looking for elk I'll hit 2-4 areas a day, miles apart, sleep in my truck away from my basecamp and maybe check in with the wife every other day.

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I have elk hunted since 2004. I used a Delorme GPS to start with. I used a topo type app on my phone when they first became available several years later. Then OnX when it came out. There was not a day that went by that i didnt save a waypoint of some sort. Whether it was camp, parking spot, wallow , game trail or fresh elk sign. Why would they not mark any of this info, after previously doing this is other areas?

Are you saying you cover 2-4 areas per day, miles apart, never record anything at all?

Sorry, but these guys wont be found safe. I hate to say it, but thats how it will be im afraid.

 

[Bugger]

If they died in the storm a week ago the chances are high they would be found by now. Wildlife and dogs would have picked up on that by this point, especially if they weren’t geared up to go far from the truck. Unless they really got after it and took a long haul risk going after that bull, there’s something fishy going on. Hoping for some surprise good news though.

 

[TexasCub]

My thinking too @TexasCub

After almost a week of no contact, it seems close to zero that this is a Search and Rescue now, but a Search and Recovery.

Let's see if the prayers setforth in this thread do their job. I'm hopeful they do.

Anyone remember the thread from a couple years ago of the hunter who disappeared in the AK tundra while taking a short walk from camp with nary a trace. That case is a strange one too, but seems more likely as possible compared to this one.


Eddie

A single hunter relying on their own resources and decision making can do some really dumb things if ill prepared, compromised by hypothermia, dehydration, hunger, disorientation, etc. it’s the two guys thing that does not make sense to me. I’ve hunted all over remote Alaska and the Mountain west, been in many oh shit situations, and I’ve witnessed where one partner starts to get erratic and the others get him straight, when there’s more than one person to challenge erratic thinking or planning or decision making the chances of bad decisions go down. Lots of bad things can happen to one person….but you need some serious murphys law shit to affect two people a mile off the road….it just doesn’t add up. If in fact they succumbed to something like lightning, or a rock slide I’d hope at some point they have some cadaver dogs out there on a warm day, cuz it’s been a week now.

 

[wapitibob]

I have elk hunted since 2004. I used a Delorme GPS to start with. I used a topo type app on my phone when they first became available several years later. Then OnX when it came out. There was not a day that went by that i didnt save a waypoint of some sort. Whether it was camp, parking spot, wallow , game trail or fresh elk sign. Why would they not mark any of this info, after previously doing this is other areas?

Are you saying you cover 2-4 areas per day, miles apart, never record anything at all?

Sorry, but these guys wont be found safe. I hate to say it, but thats how it will be im afraid.

Saving waypoints doesn't do any good till you have service and they update on the host server. Without service you need a sat communicator, which I believe is what they used to check in.

 

[fwafwow]

I met a dude at a bbq who was found in a tree high as a kite when he was in his 20s and had to have search and rescue bring him down. It’s funny now because, well, he was found in a tree high as a kite and no harm done. I know another guy who fell down a 150’ near cliff and almost died while liquored up. Double over doses aren’t that uncommon they just don’t make the news unless they are cute college girls on spring break - ask your local paramedics. The healthy clean cut 30-something dad renting the house next door to me got some stronger stuff than he expected, overdosed, was found by his young son after school, and was taken out in a body bag. Some kids we know well, who have well established oxi habits thought it was a good idea to cliff dive off a new spot they hadn’t checked for submerged rocks. You keep believing impairment doesn’t contribute to the odds of bad things happening, but I don’t have to make stories up in my head, but simply look back at what guys have already done.

People do strange and dangerous things. That doesn’t mean it’s appropriate to speculate as to any of those activities possibly happening in this instance. Time and place man - read the room. When in a hole, stop digging.

 

[Thomas11]

I guess my biggest thing is if they were truly back there and lost hypothermia or hurt or whatever why couldn’t they hit the sos button? The only real scenario is they would be both have to be killed instantly right in order to not use it?

 

[Buffalo]

Question about the inreach pings for my own education. Does simply turning the inreach on and allowing it time to connect to satellites result in a ping that could be used to locate someone? Or does a ping require some manual operation, like sending a message or have the tracking enabled? I typically keep mine off and turn it on to check in once or twice a day with the fam. I do not have the tracking feature enabled. Wondering if I should turn it on while traveling or periodically during the day, if that would result in my location being recorded somehow.

 

[CJohnson]

I guess my biggest thing is if they were truly back there and lost hypothermia or hurt or whatever why couldn’t they hit the sos button? The only real scenario is they would be both have to be killed instantly right in order to not use it?

I think people have a lot of misconceptions with what happens when you punch that button. Maybe they did, but they didn’t have a clear line of sight for the signal. I’ve used my inreach for messaging and in some places you just can’t get a message to go through. If you got hurt in a spot like that, hitting the SOS button wouldn’t do you any good.

 

[CorbLand]

I guess my biggest thing is if they were truly back there and lost hypothermia or hurt or whatever why couldn’t they hit the sos button? The only real scenario is they would be both have to be killed instantly right in order to not use it?

There’s been a lot of conflicting information but I believe the inReach was left in the vehicle.

Question about the inreach pings for my own education. Does simply turning the inreach on and allowing it time to connect to satellites result in a ping that could be used to locate someone? Or does a ping require some manual operation, like sending a message or have the tracking enabled? I typically keep mine off and turn it on to check in once or twice a day with the fam. I do not have the tracking feature enabled. Wondering if I should turn it on while traveling or periodically during the day, if that would result in my location being recorded somehow.

A ping requires tracking or a message sent. If the device is on, Garmin can ping it if requested.

 

[eddielasvegas]

I guess my biggest thing is if they were truly back there and lost hypothermia or hurt or whatever why couldn’t they hit the sos button? The only real scenario is they would be both have to be killed instantly right in order to not use it?

I was thinking about this a lot over the past few days and if hypothermia was the culprit, I could see them both expereincing the symptoms of that at very similar progressions, which would potentially render them incapacitated even though they were not taken out instantly by dead fall or lightning strike.


Eddie

 

[intunegp]

Question about the inreach pings for my own education. Does simply turning the inreach on and allowing it time to connect to satellites result in a ping that could be used to locate someone? Or does a ping require some manual operation, like sending a message or have the tracking enabled? I typically keep mine off and turn it on to check in once or twice a day with the fam. I do not have the tracking feature enabled. Wondering if I should turn it on while traveling or periodically during the day, if that would result in my location being recorded somehow.

Getting Started With Tracking on an inReach Mini 2 | Support Center

Garmin Support Center for Canada is where you will find answers to frequently asked questions and resources to help with all of your Garmin products.

support.garmin.com

 

[TaperPin]

People do strange and dangerous things. That doesn’t mean it’s appropriate to speculate as to any of those activities possibly happening in this instance. Time and place man - read the room. When in a hole, stop digging.

What I’ve said has absolutely zero impact on what is happening to those boys. I say it as my due diligence for future events. Just like I’ve said to not run with scissors, always bring an extra snack, don’t loose your mittens, and don’t pee into the wind. Nobody listens to older guys, so what do you care?

 

[Dan Carey]

We may never know what happened to these 2 hunters, sad.

 

[Pacific_Fork]

What I’ve said has absolutely zero impact on what is happening to those boys. I say it as my due diligence for future events. Just like I’ve said to not run with scissors, always bring an extra snack, don’t loose your mittens, and don’t pee into the wind. Nobody listens to older guys, so what do you care?

You’re like Buzz 2.0

Time to step away

 

[505Wapiti]

Update today from missing hunters family apparently…

 

[dirt_nap]

Looking at the area that the shared set of pins are, and the truck location that they were last seen at, I have to think that they have passed by now. This is my theory.

Grabbed gear at truck for a evening hunt, maybe they saw something close, maybe wanted to check out a new area. On that evening hunt, one of the two was struck with a critical injury due to weather. Broken femur, maybe a head injury due to a rockslide or maybe a fallen tree.

The uninjured one stays with his buddy for a day or two, hoping that help will come, not wanting to abandon his friend to get help. Finally, after a couple of days, and the injury getting worse, the uninjured guy heads out to find help, but due to lack of food, maybe hypothermia he gets easily turned around, and wanders off in the wrong direction. I doubt that either of them made it far since there are a lot of trails and roads in the area. My guess is that they will be found apart from each other, less than 2 miles from the truck.

 

[Dave_]

I mark all kinds of stuff on my phone (onx) and/or handheld garmin (non-inreach). But if my phone is off, dead, or in airplane mode it probably will not do any good to SAR.

I could be wrong, It doesn't sound like tracking was turned on on their inreach, there would be alot more points. They were just manually sending out location for random check-ins. All those points look like they are on established trails/road.

I don't usually have tracking turned on on my inreach but I may start after this incident.

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