According to the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office, a turkey hunter has gone missing in the area of 14,230-foot Mount Shavano.

Identified as Kaden Sites, 27 and of Salida, authorities received a notification about the situation at 7 p.m. on April 15. Sites had reportedly left to hunt alone at about 1:30 p.m. that day, though he failed to return to town to go to a doctor’s appointment at 3:45 p.m.

His family was able to locate his truck near the Blanks Cabin Trailhead on Mount Shavano, which is a popular access point for the peak and located on the southeastern side of the mountain. His cellphone was found in his truck, though its battery was said to be completely drained. It’s believed that Sites entered the backcountry with his shotgun and binocular pack, but without other specialized equipment. He was last seen in a green hoodie, ripped khaki pants, and hiking boots.

Upon receiving the report about the situation, search and rescue teams were deployed utilizing drones, helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft, canines, and ‘boots on the ground.’ The search has involved 11 different agencies and more than 60 personnel. At the time an April 16 press release was published on the matter at 1:30 p.m. MT, Sites had not been found.

“The Sites family and we [the sheriff’s office] 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,” read a message from Chaffee County Sheriff Andy Rohrich. “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.”

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