Ongoing search efforts at Rocky Mountain National Park for Fort Collins man
COLORADO, USA (KRDO)-- Search efforts are continuing for a 49-year-old man from Fort Collins who went missing in the Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP).
According to RMNP officials, Chad Pallansch was reported missing on Thursday, September 28, and was last heard from around noon on Wednesday, September 27.
Park rangers confirmed his car was still parked at the North Inlet Trailhead on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park.
According to RMNP officials, Pallansch started from the East Inlet Trailhead near Grand Lake on Wednesday.
He was reported to have started a 28-mile route, which included crossing the Continental Divide, traveling on established trails, as well as off-trail travel through steep talus slopes.
RMNP officials added Pallansch had not attempted this route previously but is an experienced trail runner who has run numerous routes in the park including Longs Peak more than 30 times.
Potential travel areas he might have been through include Lake Verna, Mount Alice, Chiefs Head Peak, Black Lake, Mills Lake, and Flattop Mountain.
Recently, on Monday, October 1, RMNP officials stated that 55 individuals were involved in search efforts, including 38 search team members who went out in the field to find Chad Pallansch.
Rescue efforts were focused on the Boulder Grand Pass, Mount Alice, McHenry’s Peak, Arrowhead, Stoneman Pass, Cheifs Head Peak, Thatchtop, Powell Peak, and Andrews Glacier areas.
RMNP officials added teams were also searching trail sections on the west side of the park that were potentially on his route because recent winds at the higher elevations were hampering air operations.
So far, search efforts have included air reconnaissance, a heat-sensing fixed-wing flight, as well as ground crews on the North Inlet and East Inlet Trails, Black Lake and Upper Glacier Gorge area, Thunder Lake, and Lake Powell.
Pallansch is described as being 5’7, 155 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes.
He is described as a fit runner with both trail running and marathon experience and is likely wearing a black ultralight jacket, black running shorts or leggings, and a grey fanny pack.
Pallansch did have a personal navigation device with him, but the device was not designed for emergency assistance.
Anyone with information that could help investigators, those who may have seen Chad Pallansch, or those who were in the areas listed above on September 27, are asked to CALL the National Park Service Investigative Services Bureau Tip Line at 888-653-0009, fill out an ONLINE form at go.NPS.gov/SubmitATip, or EMAIL nps_isb@nps.gov.
