A search and rescue operation is underway after a 23-year-old man was reported missing from Rocky Mountain National Park.
The National Park Service reports that crews are searching for Blake Kieckhafer of Omaha, Nebraska, after family members reported him missing on Monday, August 11.
According to social media appeals from family members, Kieckhafer had traveled by himself to Colorado and left his car at a Walmart parking lot in Greeley before taking an Uber into the park. He was dropped off at approximately 5:20pm on Thursday, August 7 in the Upper Beaver Meadows area, around a mile west of Beaver Meadows Entrance on the east side of the park. He has not been seen or heard from since.
Kieckhafer doesn't appear to have been adequately equipped for spending the night in the wild, with the NPS reporting he was dressed in a dark-colored T-shirt, pants and a baseball cap with no logo, and carrying only a small maroon daypack.
Kieckhafer is described as 5’11,” tall and weighs 180lbs. He has buzzed/short blonde hair and a mustache, and blue/green eyes.
The NPS requests that anyone with information as to Kieckhafer's whereabouts call or text them at (888) 653 0009, or submit a tip at https://go.nps.gov/SubmitATip.
There are currently several missing persons cases in Rocky Mountain National Park, including trail runner Chad Pallansch, 48, who disappeared in October 2023, and 70-year-old James Pruitt, who vanished in 2019. Human remains were discovered on the Alpine Ridge Trail in June, but officials have not yet confirmed identification.
