Search and rescue teams were not able to find missing hiker Jim Shadid in the Northern Hermosa Creek drainage area Wednesday.
Hadid, 79, went missing after starting the hike around 11 a.m. Sunday. The hike was supposed to be a 90-minute round trip to scout elk between Little Elk Creek Trail and Elbert Creek Road near Line Canyon.
“A Helitack helicopter from Montrose and Life Guard Five have been covering the air search,” said La Plata County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Chris Burke. “There are Moto teams on the ground search, along with volunteers and expert search and rescue teams and climbers.”
At the time he went missing, Shadid was wearing a tan “safari”-style hat, khaki pants and did not have a backpack. However, he was in radio communication with his wife and alerted her when he was about 20 minutes away from finishing the hike, but he never returned home on Sunday.
“Unfortunately, there is a negative result at this time,” Burke said. “The efforts will continue with these dedicated teams. Any new results or details will be communicated as soon as possible.”
Shadid went out on the trail without a backpack, and Burke told The Durango Herald on Tuesday that its unlikely that he was carrying food with him.
He has been described as an athletic man who’s also an outdoorsman.
Shadid is about 5-foot-6 and weighs about 140 pounds, according to information released by La Plata County Search and Rescue.
tbrown@durangoherald.com
