Lucas Macaj’s body was found Thursday, May 16, on Mills Glacier, Colo., Rocky Mountain National Park officials said.
Macaj, 23, was reported missing after hiking on Longs Peak on Sunday, May 12. He was last heard from that day around 1:00 p.m. local time. The search for Macaj began on Monday, May 13, with rangers locating his parked vehicle on the Longs Peak Trail.
“Initial investigations indicate he suffered a significant fall. Rocky Mountain National Park Rangers completed an on-site investigation and a helicopter extrication operation was conducted,” Rocky Mountain National Park spokesman Kyle Patterson said in a news release.
Macaj’s body was then flown to a “landing zone in Rocky Mountain National Park and transferred to the Boulder County Coroner’s Office,” according to the release.
The cause of Macaje’s death has not been announced.
A 23-year-old hiker disappeared after texting a friend that he had reached the top of a Colorado mountain
Macaj was a Space Force ranger stationed at Schriever Space Force Base, local media outlets KKTV and KOAA reported.
National Park Rangers have completed the on-site investigation and recovery operations for Lucas Macaj.
Rocky Mountain National Park
The discovery followed a four-day search, which included aerial reconnaissance, “heat-sensing fixed-wing flight and ground teams on the Keyhole Route” — the area Macaj hiked — and the Boulder Brook Trail.
“Ground teams skied the Hunter’s Creek drainage to the base of Keplinger’s Coulier,” Patterson said in a statement Wednesday. 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 Mount Meeker.”
Additionally, the team holed up Wednesday night and on Thursday skied Clark’s Arrow to the top of Keplinger’s Coulier in search of Macaj.
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Rocky Mountain National Park said several agencies and organizations assisted in the search and rescue mission.
Flight for Life Air Ambulance Service, the Colorado State Department of Fire Prevention and Control (DFPC) and the Colorado Army National Guard assisted in aerial reconnaissance operations.
Meanwhile, the Colorado Association of Search and Rescue (CSAR), United States Search and Rescue Dogs and the Larimer County SAR Dog Team assisted the Boulder County Sheriff’s Dog Team, the Park County SAR Dog Team and the El Paso County SAR Dog Team.
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Rocky Mountain National Park Rangers completed the on-site investigation and recovery operation for Lucas Macaj.
Rocky Mountain National Park
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A representative for the Boulder County Coroner’s Office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for more information Thursday.
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