After 13 days, rescue teams Tuesday called off the search for a Fort Collins trail runner on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park.
Chad Pallansch, 49, was last heard from around noon Sept. 27, saying in a text that he was almost to the 13,315-foot summit of Mount Alice, which is west of Longs Peak. He was reported overdue the next day.
Officials identified an area of interest between Mount Alice and McHenry’s Peak on the eighth day of the search and closed the area to the public Thursday evening. Over the weekend, nearly 80 people were involved in the search efforts, with more than 60 in the field, officials said.
They have found no evidence of his whereabouts, and the closure has now been lifted, officials said Tuesday. Broad-scale search efforts are being suspended, though patrols will continue to search.
According to a GoFundMe page for his family, search officials told Pallansch’s wife that he most likely had a fall.
Pallansch’s 28-mile itinerary starting from Grand Lake included crossing the Continental Divide and traveling on and off established trails. Search officials have said Pallansch was new to this route, but he was an experienced runner who has traversed numerous trails in the park, including the 14,259-foot Longs Peak more than 30 times.
Pallansch is the second person to go missing in Rocky Mountain National Park this year, after Kevin Sypher, an El Paso County sheriff’s deputy, was reported missing May 1. The search for him was suspended May 5.