Missing hunters in Colorado

[ResearchinStuff]

Those of you that have a Garmin or Zoleo how does the plan work? Can you activate it only during the time that you will be using it or is it a 12 month subscription? I've rented one before, but I've never owned one. Seems like something I should have, but I'm curious what it will cost me!

a new zoleo is like 150. its 4 a month when your account is suspended, unlimited messaging for a month is like 50, and the SOS insurance is like 85 for the year.

 

[dylanvb]

Those of you that have a Garmin or Zoleo how does the plan work? Can you activate it only during the time that you will be using it or is it a 12 month subscription? I've rented one before, but I've never owned one. Seems like something I should have, but I'm curious what it will cost me!

Garmin has monthly plans that you can pay as you go. subscription style. Cancel when not needed.

 

[TaperPin]

It is often unsaid because it’s seen as disrespectful to even mention it, but more than one 25 year old dude enjoys getting high as a kite when camping - a certain percentage from all income and educational backgrounds. My careers since high school have always included a good number of young dudes, and the amount of crazy camping/hiking/hunting stories overheard of magic mushrooms, lsd, oxi and the like should scare the heck out of anyone. To the person when I’ve questioned what they think when bad things happen, it always comes back to “that person knew the risk and chose to take it.” Obviously they don’t always understand the risks.

The paramedic in the family has too many stories.

Our teenage kids chuckled when I told them parents just hope kids make good enough decisions to live to be thirty and be productive members of society so we won’t have to worry as much. Now that they are both in their 30s they look back at their friends who have been buried for stupid reasons and it makes more sense to them now.

 

[Steve300xcw]

The “search party” should do no such thing. We can all be reasonably concerned for these men, but the only purpose of releasing that is to allow folks to speculate as to their fate. It’s not like any of us is in a position to say, “they left their X, that must mean they are at grid 1234567891.”

No shit. None of our business what was in the car. Interesting that somebody would even suggest that

 

[Q_Sertorius]

Now that we are speculating that they may have been high, tripping, or otherwise impaired, I'd say this thread has about run its useful course.

The only useful thing any of us can do is hope for the best and try to get the word out to other hunters in that part of the world.

I've been part of a couple of searches for lost/missing Marines and it always sucked. The first search ended well. I found the team, tired and lost in the desert, without having to stop the entire exercise. The second search did not end well. But, until we actually found the unfortunate young man's body, the part that sucked the most was dealing with the busy bodies who just had to share their opinions.

 

[LostArra]

I hunted 81 three years in a row over 15 years ago when it was OTC. Lots of Texas and Oklahoma trucks and horse trailers at trail heads but I only saw one human while hunting. Lots of steep terrain. When those monsoon storms hit little creeks turn into raging rivers that cannot be crossed. We got trapped by high water and deep mud but it was only for a day. I quit that area because of grazing leases of sheep and cows covering the area and destroying camps.

 

[Coopsdaddy]

I don’t think he was saying they were he was just talking about another possibility.
That’s not unreasonable and I bet on of the first things authorities ask so they have a idea of the situation.

 

[fngTony]

Garmin in reach you can do monthly subscription if you choose . Activate it/deactivate it whenever you want to. No idea about Zoleo.

Zoleo will let you suspend service after your first three months and you retain your number. I’ve never done though as the $20 a month is hard to notice.

 

[KHNC]

At this point I feel like the idea that they are just out hunting and have no idea what is going on is all but off the table. If I had told my wife that I would keep in contact with her via an Inreach, and I realized that I left it at the pickup, I am not just saying “welp, forgot it, let’s keep hunting” for 6 more days. I would be hiking my ass back to the pickup or finding some way to contact her.

Yeah, if they have been out of sight of search party for last 6 days, they have found one helluva honey hole. Not likely nowadays in CO.

 

[ReddingArcher]

If we're talking about foul play we're basically talking about them getting shot at or near their vehicle. If two young, fit dudes with bows walked up on someone trying to rob their vehicle it's going to be a fist fight possibly turning into someone drawing a weapon. I don't think the type of dudes robbing vehicles at trail heads would be adept enough to cover up a double murder to the degree that the next people to arrive at the scene suspected absolutely nothing. The only time foul play has been brought up is by people speculating on the internet. No sources close to the search have even mentioned it.

Great point, most criminals are morons and not capable of covering up something like that.

 

[AZ8]

The “search party” should do no such thing. We can all be reasonably concerned for these men, but the only purpose of releasing that is to allow folks to speculate as to their fate. It’s not like any of us is in a position to say, “they left their X, that must mean they are at grid 1234567891.”

This whole thread is speculation. lmao.

 

[TxAggie02]

Some more information given in this article that just came out....

Search underway for elk hunters missing in Rio Grande National Forest; families offering $10,000 reward

Andrew Porter and Ian Stasko sent their last communication Sept. 11. Porter’s fiancée says they are experienced, but whatever happened “depends on if they were in sound mind, if they were disoriented or panicked, or if they were hypothermic.”

coloradosun.com

The last ping came from near Stasko’s car, which was parked at the trailhead. But Murphy said she believes she has pieced together what might have happened that evening, based on gear police found in the car when law enforcement officials broke into it after she and Porter’s mother called the Conejos County Sheriff’s Office and the local Colorado Parks and Wildlife game warden Friday evening.

Officials found wet clothes in the car, which told Murphy the men had been in inclement weather and had come back to change, likely when they sent their location Thursday. But none of the gear Porter would need to hunt, harvest or pack out an elk was in the car, which told her they’d likely gone back out hunting.

“We didn’t find his bow, his butchering knives, his game bags or binoculars, things he would take with him to go kill an elk with the hope that they could start packing it out to the car that night,” she said. But when she had hunted with the men before, she said they’d come back to the car and slept in it.

She isn’t sure what “backups” the men took with them, including a tent, she added.

But Thursday night, when she believes they were out, the weather turned inclement, with “bad, cold storms and fog that came in quickly and continuously until Sunday morning,” she said. “So if they were fine, he would have come back to the car, and if his Garmin was dead he would have charged it, and he would have sent me one message. But no, that’s not the case.”

 

[Mighty Mouse]

Maybe they spotted some elk or heard a bugle while re-supplying at the truck and hastily took off in pursuit with only bows and what they had on their person thinking it would be a quick stalk. That could explain most of their gear being left behind. Phone on your person Bluetooth-connected to an inReach in your pack is a commonly used arrangement. If that were the case and they took off sans packs to stay light, the inReach could’ve been accidentally left behind. I’ve nearly ditched my inReach by accident a couple times in exactly that manner. Quick stalk turns into a long stalk and they find themselves far from the truck with minimal gear and no navigational aid. Darkness and/or stormy weather could turn that into a dangerous situation. That’s the most plausible and innocent speculation I can come up with.

I’ve been in similar situations a few times pushing myself a little too hard pursuing animals while under-equipped. Nothing ever life-threatening, but an ill-timed storm could’ve made some of those situations pretty dicey.

 

[journeyman713]

The truck had their wet clothes in it, and the pack-out kit gone.
Sounds like a quick turn around for a wounded animal tracking/retrieval.

 

[intunegp]

The truck had their wet clothes in it, and the pack-out kit gone.
Sounds like a quick turn around for a wounded animal tracking/retrieval.

Where's that info from?

Edit: Nevermind, just read the Colorado Sun article that mentions it.

Officials found wet clothes in the car, which told Murphy the men had been in inclement weather and had come back to change, likely when they sent their location Thursday. But none of the gear Porter would need to hunt, harvest or pack out an elk was in the car, which told her they’d likely gone back out hunting.

“We didn’t find his bow, his butchering knives, his game bags or binoculars, things he would take with him to go kill an elk with the hope that they could start packing it out to the car that night,” she said. But when she had hunted with the men before, she said they’d come back to the car and slept in it.

She isn’t sure what “backups” the men took with them, including a tent, she added.

 

[MuleDeerMike]

I wonder if either or both of them are members here

 

[HairyScandinavian]

The fact that they still took the bows out is somewhat encouraging, there's still a possibility that they're spiking out and, today being the last day of their hunt, they show up at the truck tonight after hiking out and get a shocking surprise. I always carry the kill kit with me because I don't want to hike back miles to the truck to retrieve it if I get something.

 

[Flyjunky]

The fact that they still took the bows out is somewhat encouraging, there's still a possibility that they're spiking out and, today being the last day of their hunt, they show up at the truck tonight after hiking out and get a shocking surprise. I always carry the kill kit with me because I don't want to hike back miles to the truck to retrieve it if I get something.

I get what you’re saying but spiking out for that many days with no pack?

 

[intunegp]

New info here...they were supposed to be done hunting Monday and be home to Utah/North Carolina by today.

 

[HairyScandinavian]

I get what you’re saying but spiking out for that many days with no pack?

25 year olds are tough. I'm not letting go, hoping for a great outcome still. Maybe already had their spike camp setup... I realize the odds but I want to believe.