A massive manhunt is underway for two 25 year-old elk hunters reported missing in the San Juan Wilderness Area of southwest Colorado. Andrew Porter of Asheville, North Carolina, and Ian Stasko of Salt Lake City, Utah were last heard from on Sept. 11, the day they hiked into the Rio Grande National Forest from a trailhead in a remote part of Conejos County, Colorado.
According to an updated press release issued by the Conejos County Sheriffs Office, the young hunters failed to check in via satellite shortly before their loved ones reported them missing. The failed check-in kicked off a large-scale search-and-rescue effort that is now into its sixth day.
“The search is continuing today with multiple resources active,” the Sept. 17 press release reads. “The New Mexico State Police and La Plata County Search and rescue Teams along with Volunteers from as far away as Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Wyoming and numerous other States and Counties across the State, and the Nation have and are responding.”
There were over 54 search and rescue teams in the field as of Wednesday, Sept. 17. “Each team is made up of three to four individuals either on foot or on horseback,” authorities report. “We also have numerous drones flying the area combined with Flight for Life, Classic and a personally owned Black Hawk Helicopter.”
The vehicle that the men arrived in was located at the Rio De Los Pines Trailhead with camping gear and backpacks still inside. The fact that the missing hunters left their overnight gear in the car prompted concern from responding deputies, the release states, due to heavy rains and recent bad weather in the area.
The Rio Grande National Forest is vast—spanning nearly 1.8 million forested acres that encircle southwest Colorado’s San Luis Valley. Stasko and Porter were hunting in the San Juan Mountains, somewhere to the west of the Trujillo Meadows Reservoir, according to official reports. The area is known for rugged and difficult terrain. And its large elk herds attract scores of resident and non-resident hunters every year.
In a Sept. 15 Facebook post, Porter’s finance, Bridget Murphy, said the men were hunting in Game Unit 81 when their satellite devices stopped emitting signals. “While they are experienced hunters, bad cold storms and fog came in quickly and continuously until Sunday morning,” she wrote. “A lot of their gear is still in their car at the trailhead, as we assume they probably thought they were going out for a quick evening hunt with clear weather. They are both 6′ fit men, with dirty blonde and light brown hair.”
The men’s families have since issued a $10,000 reward for the individual or search party that finds them. Field & Stream will continue to follow and update this story as more details emerge.
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