Snow in RMNP Credit: Alpine Visitor Center August 20, 2021
GRAND COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — Skeletal remains found on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park in August 2020 are believed to belong to a German hiker who went missing 38 years ago.
27-year-old Rudi Moder of West Germany set out on a hike on Feb. 13 in 1983 from the Zimmerman Lake Trailhead on Highway 17. The mountaineering trip was only supposed to last two to three days.
Moder was reported to be an experienced winter mountaineer. When Moder was overdue from his trip, his Fort Collins roommate reported him missing. By Feb. 20, rescue teams were in the field, conducting aerial and on-foot searches. More than a foot of snow had fallen in the Never Summer Mountains where Moder was believed to have crossed through, making search efforts difficult.
Aerial (left) and ground (right) searches for Rudi Moder in 1983, conducted by Larimer County Search and Rescue and Rocky Mountain National Park Search and Rescue Teams. Courtesy: RMNP Public Affairs
According to RMNP officials, searchers found a food cache belonging to Moder as well as a snow cave with more of his belongings inside. The four-day search did not yield Moder.
In August 2020, a hiker happened upon skeletal remains in the Skeleton Gulch area, originally part of the search perimeters sanctioned for Moder. The remains were found with skis, poles and boots, along with remains of personal items believed to belong to Moder.
The Grand County Coroner's office looked at dental records to try and officially identify the remains, but the results were inconclusive. U.S. officials have been in contact with the German government for assistance in identifying the remains and notifying Moder's family.
The discovery of these remains could mark the end of a nearly 40-year-long cold case. Efforts to properly identify the remains are still ongoing.
Jason @BeardedOverland www.beardedadv.blogspot.com
Search and rescue cops warn people NEVER to use this viral phone trick if you get stuck with no signal
Sarah Grealish
SEARCH and Rescue teams have warned people should never NEVER do a "life-saving" phone trick that has gone viral.
A social media post shared thousands of times tells people to change their voicemail greeting if they are lost to include information about their location and situation.
1
A Facebook post has been telling people to change their voicemail if they are lostCredit: Alamy
But rather than life saving - it could be life-threatening, with many experts now pointing out major flaws in the advice.
The post reads: "If you are ever lost while hiking, get stranded with a broken down car etc and you notice your phone is either low on juice or has no signal, here is a tip that may very well save your life.
"Change the voicemail on your phone to a message that gives your approximate location, the time, the date, your situation (lost, out of gas, car broken down, injured etc) and any special instructions such as you are staying with the car, you are walking towards town etc.
"The best part of this is that even if your cell phone dies or stops working, voicemail still works, so anyone calling your phone looking for you will hear the message and know where to find you or where to send help."
In the last few weeks, the post has been shared thousands of times on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
But The Alpine Rescue Team have slammed the post in a response - pointing out that it spreads misinformation and shared their own tips.
They wrote: "1. Without a signal you can't change your voicemail.
"The voicemail system resides with your cell provider. To change your outgoing message, you have to CALL into your voicemail and then navigate the menus, record a new greeting, confirm the new greeting, etc. You cannot do this with no signal.
"2. If your battery is low do not waste its power by calling your voice mail—or a friend or relative. Call 9-1-1 for help.
"3. If you have no signal, text for help to 9-1-1. Many, if not most, 9-1-1 centers can receive a text.
"4. Text takes much less power, is far more likely to get through, will automatically retry many times if you have spotty service, leaves record others can see and can give you an indication that it got through.
"By the way, because of the automatic retries, you can compose and hit send on a text and then get your phone as high as possible to improve the chances of getting the message out.
"5. Stay put. Okay, if you're lost or broken down and you've called for help (assuming you have signal and battery) please stay in one location - unless you must move for safety reasons.
"Changing your location makes our job more difficult. Trying to reach someone whose GPS location we have (within a circle, of course) is faster for us than trying to nail down a moving target. STAY PUT.
"6. Maximize battery life. In order to make the battery last longer, turn off everything you do not need. Close all apps. Turn off WiFi and Bluetooth.
"Don't use your cell phone as a GPS/map device and especially do not use the compass if your phone has one -- the compass feature in some phones is a serious battery drain.
"Pull out your map and compass and/or use a dedicated GPS unit. You may be instructed, by text, to turn your phone off and text back at a specific time. Also, keep your phone just a little warm with some body heat or a handwarmer."
In the UK you can send a text to 999 in an emergency situation.
However you will need to register your mobile phone before using the emergency SMS service.
People have been sharing tips to stay safe after Gabby Petito's body was found in early this year.
Gabby Petito was a 22-year-old who went on a cross-country road trip with her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, and never returned home.
She was last seen on August 24, 2021, in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Her body was found on September 19 in Grand Teton National Park, and the cause of death was revealed to be strangulation.
Meanwhile an Irish mother is searching for her son who has gone missing in the same park where she was found.
Cian McLaughlin, 27, has been missing since June 8. He was last seen in the park going out for a hike, NewsNationNow reports
Jason @BeardedOverland www.beardedadv.blogspot.com
(Courtesy of Georgia Department of Natural Resources)
RABUN COUNTY, Ga. - The search for a missing hiker has ended tragically after his body was found at the bottom of Tallulah Gorge State Park.
Officials tell FOX 5 they were called about 39-year-old Brookhaven resident William Lang Pottle at the state park Friday around 9:30 p.m.
Investigators found Pottle's vehicle in the parking lot of the park's Interpretive Center but did not see any sign of him on any of the trails around the gorge.
About an hour later, officials located Pottle's body at the bottom of the gorge's Overlook 2 using a drone, but they were unable to get to him due to the lack of light and bad weather conditions.
Saturday morning, rescue crews were able to recover and positively identify Pottle's body.
Investigators are working to identify how the cause of death and how he fell into the gorge.
Jason @BeardedOverland www.beardedadv.blogspot.com
Phoenix firefighters rescue 2 hikers from 2 popular mountain trails on Sunday
Phoenix rescue crews used a helicopter Sunday to lift a hiker off Camelback Mountain after he fell and hit his head, according to a Fire Department spokesperson.
Fire crews were called shortly after 5 p.m. when a man slipped and fell approximately halfway up the Echo Canyon trail, according to Capt. Scott Douglas, a spokesperson with Phoenix Fire Department.
Rescuers found the man stable, but weak, he said.
Due to the location, fire crews and a Phoenix Police Department helicopter hoisted the hiker off the mountain to the parking lot. From there, an ambulance took the man to a local hospital for further treatment.
At another popular hiking area, Piestewa Peak, fire crews assisted a hiker who lost her way on the trail when it got dark on Sunday evening. Crews found her uninjured about three-quarters of the way up the trail and helped her down, Douglas said.
Jason @BeardedOverland www.beardedadv.blogspot.com
Colorado Search & Rescue Groups Warn Hikers Against Relying Solely On Your Cellphone After Hiker Ignores Calls – CBS Denver
Cell phones are amazing devices, but you should never rely on any one technology. Be prepared, have a backup plan, and learn to read a map and a compass.
SUMMIT COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) – Search and rescue crews say relying on your cellphone when you're alone in the backcountry can be risky. As the winter season kicks off, they're reminding those headed outside that there are many ways you can prepare.
"It's best if you go with a partner. A hiking buddy. But we also understand that a lot of people like to hike by themselves. Maybe their friends can't go, and maybe it's a spur-of-the-moment thing. Just make sure that you tell somebody where it is that you're going and what time you're going to be out," said Charles Pitman, Mission Coordinator for the Summit County Rescue Group.
An incident on Mount Elbert earlier this month where a lost hiker ignored calls from search and rescuers because he didn't recognize the number is one reason this is good advice. It prompted rescuers to make a public plea for lost hikers to answer repeated calls to confirm you're okay. The crews on Mount Elbert eventually discovered this hiker was.
More than that, it's a reminder to hikers to be prepared for changing conditions and that reliance on a cellphone isn't always the best idea.
A recent viral post on Facebook was flagged for containing "partly false information." The post suggests that if you're lost, you can change your voicemail to give your approximate location and anyone looking for you will know where to find you. Pitman says it's misleading information like this that can give hikers a false sense of security.
"Number one is you can't change your voicemail if you don't have access to a cell tower, and if you leave your phone on in the backcountry, and you don't have access to a cell tower you eat up battery life very, very quickly. So, our recommendation is as soon as you leave the trailhead, either turn your phone off or place it in airplane mode," said Pitman.
TJ Greene, owner of Wilderness Sports, says another great solution is a GPS device. He says there are a range of good products to choose from. His shop plans to stock the Garmin InReach next month.
"I take it with on long motorcycle trips or trips in the backcountry. I can text my wife if there's no cell signal. You can call search and rescue. You can send out SOS signals if something goes really wrong. You can also set it up to be where people can track you so you can send a link to your friends, family and they can keep an eye on where you are through the InReach," said Greene.
The devices aren't cheap. They will cost you anywhere between $350 and $450, but they work.
"I've gotten stuck in the backcountry in interesting situations that were very difficult to get out of and would've been a lot easier with help if I could've reached people," said Greene.
While he hasn't had to use his device ever, he's glad to have it.
"I think the longest I've had it turned on is a week, and I still had plenty of battery life left," he said.
Pitman says there are also inexpensive GPS applications you can download to your smartphone that work without cell signal and have maps for the specific areas you plan to hike.
Regular backcountry users recommend the following resources:
Hiker from Boston finds his way after being lost overnight off N.H. trail
By Ava Sasani Globe Correspondent,Updated October 31, 2021, 5:49 p.m.
A 31-year-old Boston man found his way out of the woods Sunday after he went missing one day earlier while hiking the Rocky Branch Trail in Jackson, N. H., New Hampshire Fish and Game Department officials said.
Michael Papale was hiking to Mount Isolation with friends Saturday when he stopped before the summit, officials said in a statement. The rest of the group continued on without Papale, and planned to meet him on the way down, but on their descent they discovered that Papale was gone, according to the statement.
Papale left items on the trail to signal to his friends that he was descending the mountain, but when the group returned to their vehicle, he was not there, officials said.
Around 8 p.m., the group alerted conservation authorities, who searched for Papale through the night, amid heavy rain, officials said.
Jason @BeardedOverland www.beardedadv.blogspot.com
