Search underway for Colorado Springs man missing in Rocky Mountain National Park
Rocky Mountain National Park rangers started the search Monday for a 23-year-old Colorado Springs man who went missing on Longs Peak on Sunday.
The National Park Service said Lucas Macaj was reported overdue late Sunday night after setting out to summit the 14,259-foot mountain. His car was later found at the Longs Peak trailhead parking lot.
According to the NPS, Macaj texted a friend that he had reached the summit around 1 p.m. Sunday, with no contact since. The Park Service said “significant storms” hit parts of the park at high elevation Sunday afternoon.
The east face summit of Longs Peak as seen from the air on May 13.
Courtesy of the National Parks Service
The east face summit of Longs Peak as seen from the air on May 13.
Macaj planned to summit via the Keyhole Route. The NPS says he is likely wearing a dark-colored top, tan or brown pants, khaki-colored boots and a black backpack with a beanie and dark-colored gloves. He is described as 5 feet, 9 inches and 155 pounds with brown hair and green eyes.
Rescue efforts deployed Monday include teams in the air and on the ground, with a heat-seeking camera attached to a fixed-wing aircraft and search-and-rescue crews on the Longs Peak trail along the Keyhole route and on the Boulder Brook Trail. The Flight for Life Air Ambulance and the State of Colorado Department of Fire Prevention and Control are also on scene with the national park’s search and rescue teams.
Air reconnaissance covered the Keyhole Route, including The Ledges, The Trough, The Narrows, The Homestretch and the saddle between Longs Peak and Mount Meeker, according to the Parks Service.
On the tallest peak in Rocky Mountain National Park, the Longs Peak summit routes are both popular and dangerous. Last year, in July, two hikers were rescued off the mountain, while in August a man was injured after a 60-foot fall in the area of the Keyhole Route.
According to data compiled on the 374 visitor deaths in the park between 1915 and 2017, 67 have been associated with Longs Peak.
The NPS is asking anyone who saw Macaj, was in the area Sunday, or has any useful information to call or text the National Park Service Investigative Services Bureau Tip Line at 888-653-0009, go online at www.nps.gov/ISB or email [email protected].