CHAFFEE COUNTY, Colo. — Search and rescue crews are working to find a 27-year-old hunter who the Chaffee County Sheriff's Office said was reported missing Wednesday evening.
The hunter, Kaden Sites, went turkey hunting on Mount Shavano around 1:30 p.m. and "was planning on coming back to town to attend a doctor’s appointment at 3:45 p.m.," according to the sheriff's office.
Officials said his family found his truck near the Blanks Cabin Trailhead after he didn't show for the appointment. His cellphone, which was dead, was also in the car.
Sites, who is from Salida, is described as a white man with light brown hair, a goatee and a mustache. He was wearing a green hoodie, ripped khakis and hiking boots last time he was seen, officials said. He had a shotgun and binoculars, but no other equipment, according to the sheriff's office.
Officials are asking people to stay away from the area.
"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," Sheriff Andy Rohrich said in a statement. "We also ask that no one operate drones anywhere near the area.”
The search effort includes local search and rescue teams, dog teams, drones, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. More than 60 searchers are currently working to search the ground area, per the sheriff's office.
Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office, Chaffee County Search and Rescue (North and South), Chaffee County Office of Emergency Management, Colorado Search and Rescue Association, Salida Police Department, Arapahoe Rescue Patrol, Western Mountain Rescue, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Search and Rescue Dogs of Colorado and Search and Rescue Dogs of the United States are all involved in the search, according to officials.
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