Search for missing turkey hunter enters third day
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SALIDA, Colorado (TMX) — An “aggressive” search for a missing turkey hunter in Colorado continued Friday after he failed to return for a scheduled doctor appointment on Wednesday, officials said.
The Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office said 27-year-old Kaden Sites of Salida went out hunting alone at around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday but planned only for a brief excursion, as he intended to return to town for a 3:45 p.m. doctor’s appointment.
When he failed to arrive at the appointment, his family found his truck near the Blanks Cabin Trailhead on Shavano Mountain. His cell phone was found inside with a dead battery.
The sheriff’s office said Sites was reported missing at around 7 p.m. Wednesday and search and rescue teams were deployed immediately. Dog teams, drones, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft joined the search along with a “large number” of ground searchers from multiple agencies.
Sites is described as a white male with brown hair, a goatee and a mustache, standing six feet, two inches tall and weighing approximately 160 pounds. He was last seen wearing a green hoodie, ripped khaki pants and hiking boots, but may have put on a ghillie suit before heading out. He is believed to be equipped with a shotgun and binoculars, but no other gear.
“The Sites family and we are very appreciative of the amount of help that has been offered to search but we are currently asking that everyone stay away from the area at this time,” Sheriff Andy Rohrich said in a statement Thursday. “We are utilizing a lot of aircraft for searching and we don’t want to be unintentionally diverted to an unknown searcher in the area that could take precious time away from the search efforts. We also ask that no one operate drones anywhere near the area.”
In an update Friday morning, the sheriff’s office said approximately 130 searchers resumed looking for Sites.
“We continue to pray for the Sites family and for the safe return of their loved one. Our teams have not given up hope and are as determined as ever to find Kaden,” Rohrich said Friday. “We are humbled by the communities loving support and to those keeping our responders fed and hydrated. We would love to be able to utilize the help of all those that have offered to search but at this time it would be far too difficult for our teams to manage on top of all the help we already have. To those offering to help, thank you. For now, we just ask that you keep the Sites family in your thoughts and prayers.”