A 23-year-old man from Colorado Springs, Colo., was reported missing after hiking Longs Peak over the weekend.
Lucas Macaj was last heard from around 1 pm local time on Sunday, May 12. He texted a friend that he was at the top of Longs Peak, but by Sunday evening he was reported to be running late after “significant storms moved through the high elevations of the park,” according to a Rocky Mountain National Park Facebook post.
The search for Macaj began on Monday, May 13, with rangers locating his parked vehicle on the Longs Peak Trail.
Search efforts included aerial reconnaissance, “heat-sensing fixed-wing flight and ground teams on the Keyhole Route” — the area Macaj hiked — including The Ledges, The Trough, The Narrows, The Homestretch and the saddle between Longs Peak and Mount Meeker. Rangers also searched the Boulder Brook Trail.
The search for Macaj continued on Wednesday, May 15. “Team members were reviewing aerial reconnaissance photos taken on May 13, looking for any clues,” Rocky Mountain National Park spokesman Kyle Patterson shared in a statement to PEOPLE.
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“Ground teams skied the Hunter’s Creek drainage to the base of Keplinger’s Coulier,” the statement read. In addition, a dog team searched the Longs Peak Trail to Battle Mountain Junction, while a third team hiked the Chasm Shelter to the Loft and “other areas between Longs Peak and Meeker Mountain.”
The team took shelter Wednesday night and plans to resume the search Thursday morning, May 16, by skiing the Clark’s Arrow Route to the top of Keplinger’s Coulier.
On Tuesday, May 14, “high winds, whiteout conditions and low visibility” hampered the search, according to a Rocky Mountain National Park Facebook post.
As a result, investigators were unable to search the loft area and Keyhole route on Longs Peak. However, they were able to walk the areas above Black Lake and below the Beds and Ledges area.
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On Monday, Rocky Mountain National Park search and rescue team members were assisted in aerial reconnaissance by Flight for Life Air Ambulance and a Colorado Department of Fire Prevention and Control (DFPC) aircraft — which includes a fixed-wing aircraft equipped with infrared and color sensors.
Macaj is 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs 155 pounds. and has brown hair and green eyes. He is believed to be wearing a dark top, brown or tan trousers, khaki boots, a black rucksack and may be wearing a hat and dark gloves.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the National Parks Investigative Services Tip Line by calling 888-653-0009, filling out an online form on the National Parks Investigative Services website or emailing [email protected].
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A representative of the National Park Service’s investigative division did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment Wednesday.
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