Missing hiker's trail littered with questions
eartha...@yahoo.com
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_3276867
Missing hiker's trail littered with questions
By Steve Lipsher
Denver Post Staff Writer
December 4, 2005
Minturn - Out of water and exhausted near the summit of her first
14,000-foot peak, Michelle Vanek sat down on a rock on a windy
September afternoon and implored her hiking companion to go ahead.
It was the last anyone saw of the 35-year-old Lakewood mother of four,
who disappeared high on Mount of the Holy Cross in a case that remains
an unsolved mystery despite the largest search in Colorado history.
Did she stumble and fall to her death or mistakenly wander down the
wrong route, eventually to be overcome by the elements, as searchers
speculate? Was she killed by an animal, perhaps indicated by a
spattering of blood spotted in the snow some distance away? Or did a
mysterious squatter who refused to answer questions from sheriff's
investigators have anything to do with her disappearance?
Newly released investigative documents detail the numerous missteps
taken by Vanek and her hiking partner, Eric Sawyer, and the exhaustive
seven-day search that ensued. But the complete story remains elusive.
Rescuers and family members all believe that Vanek is dead.
"Nothing leads me to believe that Michelle Vanek is not on that
mountain," said Tim Cochrane, who headed up the search for the Vail
Mountain Rescue team. "I just can't tell you where she is."
Sawyer, who asked not to be identified to the media during the search,
did not return phone calls seeking comment.
According to official reports, Vanek and Sawyer agreed to try
14,005-foot Holy Cross after talking about climbing a fourteener
together for more than a year.
Vanek was so excited that she and her husband, Ben, went to Gart Sports
and Costco the day before the excursion to outfit her for the occasion.
A photo that Sawyer took from the trail shows Vanek dressed in a light
jacket, hat, gloves and black stretch pants. She carried ski poles and
only a small Camelback water pack.
"A bad feeling"
Sawyer and Vanek arrived at the Halfmoon trailhead southwest of Minturn
at about 6:30 a.m. on Sept. 24.
Shortly thereafter, the hikers made the first of what would be a string
of mistakes. Sawyer - an experienced hiker who had 38 of Colorado's 53
fabled fourteeners under his belt - left his lunch and water purifier
in the car.
"Eric made the comment after they got started on the hike that he had a
bad feeling about the day," Eagle County Sheriff's Deputy Mark Linn
reported.
Then they started up the wrong trail - venturing onto the longer and
more difficult Halo route rather than the relatively easy North Ridge
route.
They also moved much slower than Sawyer had hoped, as Vanek lagged 30
to 60 feet behind him.
Asked why he didn't turn around when he realized the mistake, Sawyer
said that they "would not have had time to reach the summit," Linn
reported.
At nearly 1:30 p.m., Vanek complained that she had run out of water,
and Sawyer soon had none left, either.
"Within approximately 400 yards of the summit, Michelle told him she
was tired and could not go on," Linn reported.
Sawyer, 36, said he offered to turn back, but Vanek insisted he go on.
He told her either to wait for him there or begin traversing toward the
East Cross Creek trail, where he would meet her for the descent.
"He started up toward the summit. He arrived at the summit at exactly
1:42 p.m," Linn wrote.
Howard Paul, president of the Colorado Search and Rescue Board, said
separating is a common and sometimes critical mistake, which in this
case likely was compounded by others.
"She's in a position now where she can't be seen because perhaps she
fell, because she started moving, because she couldn't wait any longer,
because it was cold," he said. "You just see this chain link of events,
any of which, had they not occurred, the situation wouldn't have
happened."
On the summit, Sawyer called his wife to say they were running late.
According to witnesses Bill and Julia Taylor, he was there only about
five minutes.
"He just seemed to be rushed because he had to get back to his hiking
partner," Julia Taylor said.
Sawyer and the Taylors exchanged typical pleasantries and snapped each
others' pictures before he headed down.
A short time later, they heard Sawyer yelling what they thought were
calls for "help" but actually were his shouts of "Michelle!"
A "complicated" search
Over the next seven days, more than 700 searchers scoured the area. Dog
teams chased down her elusive scent; climbers scaled the broken
ridgelines; volunteers streamed down every drainage; and as many as
five helicopters at a time buzzed the area, including one that used a
device designed to detect any source of heat on the ground.
Early on, searchers found a watch hanging on a tree, giving them false
hope they were on her trail. Meanwhile, family friends arrived in large
numbers to help look for her.
"As it matured, especially by days three and four, then it got to be
complicated," Cochrane said. The planning then shifted to:
"How do we manage, efficiently and effectively, this group of people
and keep everybody safe?"
Some trained rescuers assigned to lead novices complained they couldn't
move as fast or into as difficult terrain as they would have on their
own.
But others were cheered by the extra eyes and ears, giving them hope
that Vanek would be found, perhaps even alive.
Rescuers noted that she was in good shape. They also recalled a woman
who got lost in the same area about eight years earlier who survived
for nine days before searchers found her.
At the end of the first day of the search, rescuers encountered a
mysterious backpacker coming down the trail who refused to talk. He hid
behind a tree and then ran down the trail, Deputy Steve Wilson
reported. Others said he defiantly refused to talk with them.
Searchers later encountered a tent with a light on, but the person
inside would not respond to their questions or open the tent's zipper.
The next day, sheriff's investigators met someone they believe was the
same person. After declining to provide an ID, he reluctantly told
Deputy Karen Waddell his name was Peter Martin. He was not questioned
further, and investigators do not presume he was involved in Vanek's
disappearance.
That night, a storm brought torrential rain and snow, and searchers
began to lose hope of rescuing Vanek, who was dressed in black stretch
pants and a Windbreaker and did not carry extra food or clothing.
Asked by Detective Doug Winters why he didn't prepare her better in
case of an emergency, Sawyer said that they were anticipating only a
day hike.
Backcountry travelers are advised to always carry the "10 essentials,"
including extra clothing, food and water, in case they run into
trouble.
When the detective asked Sawyer if he had anything to do with Vanek's
disappearance, he cut off the interview, saying that he wouldn't answer
any more questions without a lawyer present.
He has not been questioned again, but Winters said that absent any
evidence to the contrary, Sawyer's account is not in dispute.
"An awful decision"
Ben Vanek, Michelle's husband, told authorities that he was convinced
that Sawyer didn't do anything intentional to harm her, although he
lamented what he called "an awful decision" to leave her behind.
Ben Vanek could not be reached for comment. Michelle Vanek's father
declined to discuss her disappearance, saying it was "still too early."
As the search continued, rescuers couldn't decipher any of the few
clues they found. On Sept. 28, searchers discovered a duffle bag with a
shotgun just off the Cross Creek trail; later that day, a dog team came
across some blood spots in the snow just south of the summit, although
it was never determined to be from a person.
Six days after Vanek vanished, Cochrane took Vanek's husband and two
others up in a helicopter so they could grasp the "magnitude" of the
mountain.
"They could see the searchers, little figures crawling in the couloirs
and crawling in the boulder fields," Cochrane said. "I think that gave
them the perspective that this wasn't an easy mission."
The next day, 336 volunteers - trained rescuers and good Samaritans
alike - made a final push to find Vanek. By the end of the day,
Cochrane and the family agreed to call off the search.
"A lot of people coming out of the field on Saturday indicated they
were willing to go back in on Sunday," Cochrane said, "and my comment
was simply this: 'If you can show me a clue, show me a reason why, I'd
crank this thing back up in a minute.' We never found a ski pole. We
never found anything. Typically we do, and that would have sustained us
for another week, if we had one tiny little bit of evidence."
cro...@earthlink.net
with whatever he did...IF he did anything!
"comadreja-t" <comad...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:comadreja-t-4453...@host170.octanews.net...
> In article <1133723095....@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com>,
> "eartha...@yahoo.com" <eartha...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>> For picture and map
>> http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_3276867
>> Missing hiker's trail littered with questions
>> By Steve Lipsher
>> Denver Post Staff Writer
>> December 4, 2005
>
>
> Thank you for the story. My first reaction to this is that I don't
> believe Sawyer's story. The most likely scenario for her to disappear
> would be that she would stumble and fall. A body would had been found
> pretty fast. Bears wouldn't be that high at the time of the year,
> they like to hibernate at a lower altitude, and would be hunting below
> treeline.
>
> My guess, which is only that, is that something happened on the trial
> at a lower elevation, whether it was an accident or intentional. I
> don't know what the motive would had been, but I don't think it was this
> mystery man. Try to carry someone against their will a couple thousand
> feet at lung busting altitudes is pretty difficult. If Sawyer did
> this, my guess is that he buried her, to hide her.
>
> One big red flag is taking the other trail. I think that was quite
> deliberate, not because of the difficulty, but because it was the
> probablity of low traffic on it compare to the other one. Also if
> Sawyer has done a couple fourteeners, I don't think he would be so
> dunderhead about selecting the wrong trail.
>
> I also think that he left his lunch because he knew he wouldn't need
> it. I would be curious where his cell phone call was triangulated to.
> I think the phone call could had been a guise as well.
>
> Basically the bottomline, I wouldn't/don't believe Sawyer's story.
>
> -c
eartha...@yahoo.com
comadreja-t wrote:
> In article <1133723095....@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com>,
> "eartha...@yahoo.com" <eartha...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> > http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_3276867
> > Missing hiker's trail littered with questions
> > By Steve Lipsher
> > Denver Post Staff Writer
> > December 4, 2005
>
>
> believe Sawyer's story. The most likely scenario for her to disappear
> would be that she would stumble and fall. A body would had been found
> pretty fast. Bears wouldn't be that high at the time of the year,
> they like to hibernate at a lower altitude, and would be hunting below
> treeline.
>
> My guess, which is only that, is that something happened on the trial
> at a lower elevation, whether it was an accident or intentional. I
> don't know what the motive would had been, but I don't think it was this
> mystery man. Try to carry someone against their will a couple thousand
> feet at lung busting altitudes is pretty difficult. If Sawyer did
> this, my guess is that he buried her, to hide her.
>
> One big red flag is taking the other trail. I think that was quite
> deliberate, not because of the difficulty, but because it was the
> probablity of low traffic on it compare to the other one. Also if
> Sawyer has done a couple fourteeners, I don't think he would be so
> dunderhead about selecting the wrong trail.
>
> I also think that he left his lunch because he knew he wouldn't need
> it. I would be curious where his cell phone call was triangulated to.
> I think the phone call could had been a guise as well.
>
> Basically the bottomline, I wouldn't/don't believe Sawyer's story.
>
> -c
http://adventures-in-business-communications.blogsite.com/public/item/104306
tiny dancer
<eartha...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1133733441.4...@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
That's the way it seems to me too. This *experienced* hiker leaves this
woman alone on the trail and even tells her to 'go ahead and start down'
without him. Doesn't make sense. And why would those other hikers hear him
yelling for her shortly after leaving the summit? After all, he had told
her to go ahead down without him.
td
cro...@earthlink.net
the blog someone linked us to that initially the authorities did not reveal
this guy's name...could they have had some sort of relationship that went
sour? they were both married to others...
"tiny dancer" <tinyda...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:bSOkf.112154$xK1....@bignews7.bellsouth.net...
eartha...@yahoo.com
'She now walks with God;' search for missing hiker officially called
off
posted by: Melissa Reeves Assignment Editor
Created: 10/1/2005 8:30 AM MST - Updated: 10/3/2005 2:33 PM MST
EDWARDS, Colo. (AP) - The search for a hiker who has been missing for a
week in the Holy Cross Wilderness was called off Saturday night after
about 200 searchers were unable to find the 35-year-old Lakewood woman.
The Vail Mountain Rescue Group, under Eagle County Sheriff Joseph Hoy,
decided further searches for Michelle Vanek would not likely lead to
her discovery, said Bill Kaufman, spokesman for the sheriff's office.
"We are positive that Michelle's spirit remains in our hearts and the
Vail valley," family friend and spokesman Bob Davis said in a news
release. "She now walks with God."
Vanek, a mother of four, was last seen on Sept. 24 when she stopped to
rest while her hiking companion continued to the peak of the
14,005-feet summit. She was gone when he returned.
"It's a true mystery," search leader Tim Cochrane said. "Typically by
now we have some sort of clue or evidence indicating direction of
travel, where someone might have taken shelter."
Earlier Saturday, Cochrane said Vanek, who was already tired and
thirsty when she went missing, might have followed a snowfield away
from the trail and toward the Half Moon Campground, where her friend
had parked his car. Cochrane said it appears to be a good way out but
it contains a 60-foot drop and dead-end ledges.
The area also is covered by tall pine trees, which would block the view
of search and rescue helicopters.
Kaufman said 100 search and rescue team members and 100 volunteers
participated in the search Saturday. They began heading out before dawn
to fan out over the Mount of the Holy Cross in one of the largest
searches of its kind in Colorado.
"I think it's unprecedented to have 200 searchers on one mountain,"
Kaufman said.
Kaufman said the trained rescue teams focused on the boulder fields
above tree line, which are strewn with rocks the size of cars.
He said the volunteers divided into small groups of about 10 each and
team leaders were given radios to keep in touch. The volunteers also
searched forested areas below tree line.
About 50 searchers camped in the area Saturday night, but were to
return Sunday.
"We are overwhelmed by the numbers of volunteers, their compassion and
commitment," Davis said. "It renews our faith in humanity."
Chocolic
<cro...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:sYOkf.548$9R4...@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net...
> and yet there's no mention of any previous history btn
> them...interesting in the blog someone linked us to that initially
> the authorities did not reveal this guy's name...could they have had
> some sort of relationship that went sour? they were both married to
> others...
They had talked about taking that hike about a hear ago. Both Vantek
and Sawyer made many mistakes during the hike - taking the wrong much
longer trail, forgetting Sawyer's packed lunch and water purifier, not
preparing better for an emergency. Vantek's husband is convinced
Sawyer wouldn't do anything to harm her. They mentioned finding blood
in the snow in the article, but they don't mention what they did with
it.
Chocolic
cro...@earthlink.net
even say if it were animal or human, etc.
"Chocolic" <chatter448@nospam@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:a9Qkf.123510$qk4....@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
tiny dancer
<cro...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:JcQkf.577$9R...@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net...
> I thought one article said they could learn nothing from the blood...did
not
> even say if it were animal or human, etc.
That's right, it wasn't identified as human blood. I'm assuming it was only
a few drops. Could have been animal blood, droplets. I'd assume if it was
any huge amount, it could have been identifed and/or followed.
td
scooter34
I think you're discounting the hiker's obsession with "bagging"
mountains. Read Jon Krakauer's (sp?) book "Into Thin Air." Mistakes
are made on top of mistakes resulting in several deaths from different
reasons.
Unfortunately, I don't find it hard at all to believe that she started
back and met with misadventure, whether through accident, animal
attack, or (least likely) stranger interference. It took 60 years to
find the body of that airman in the Sierra Nevadas - so not finding a
female on a heavily wooded mountain doesn't surprise me at all.
scooter34
Kris Baker
"scooter34" <momofpe...@netscape.net> wrote in message
news:1133797511....@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>
>
> Unfortunately, I don't find it hard at all to believe that she started
> back and met with misadventure, whether through accident, animal
> attack, or (least likely) stranger interference. It took 60 years to
> find the body of that airman in the Sierra Nevadas - so not finding a
> female on a heavily wooded mountain doesn't surprise me at all.
>
> scooter34
We still have a Boy Scout missing in our Uinta mountains. He was
at the camp with his father, stepped into the lake, was sent back to
the nearby car (only about 250 feet away) to get dry socks....and
was never seen again. It was only he and his Dad.
Searchers for the "special" Scout lost this summer (and fortunately
found) were also looking for the other Scout's remains...and none
were found, even during a later search.
Kris
scooter34
comadreja-t wrote:
>
> LOL!! um I think there is a wee bit of a difference hiking a Colorado
> Fourteener to glacial mountaineering Mount Everest. They maybe both
> called mountains, but the landscape,terrain and altitude are night and
> day. Everest is more than twice the height as any Colorado Fourteener.
>
> http://www.14ers.com/photos/MtHolyCross/200009_Holy02a.jpg
I agree. I simply pointed out that people in pursuit of a goal don't
always behave rationally. The people who died on Everest died, in
large part, because of the two competing guides who were more concerned
about getting future clients than denying the current ones an attempt
at the summit, the Sherpas being worn out by dragging Sandy Pittman
Hill and other unqualified climbers up the mountain (plus carrying her
satellite gear), plus assorted other misfortunes. And you find it hard
to believe that Sawyer abandoned his friend (who was just tired, and
not really in any apparent danger) in pursuit of his goal?
>
> Mount Holy Cross doesn't have a glacial system, you can see by the
> photo where treeline area is compare to the peak.
>
> Yes it is possible that she wonder off, either fell or got lost.
> However, given the scope of the rescue and the routes she would had
> taken, she would had been found by now, IMHO to the story that Sawyer
> has reported. Basically she has vanished with no trace. If there was
> an animal attack, which is very another very unlikely situation, given
> that Black Bears and cougars would be the only culprits, there would
> have either been signs of struggles or evidence of her being dragged
> off. She was pretty high up when she disappeared, both animals like to
> hunt below treeline at the time of year, and bears would start going a
> bit higher than treeline to start hibernate.
I find it much more unlikely that a casual acquaintance whom law
enforcement has questioned closely is a master criminal. If he killed
her, where's the body? Surely fresh digging is as visible as the signs
of an animal attack.
>
> As long as her body isn't discovered, I am going to doubt his story.
>
> Also from his description of the hike, he was acting pretty selfish, and
> contrary to someone who has lots of hiking experience, and knowing about
> the rules and dangers of being above treeline.
Not contested. That doesn't mean he killed her.
>
> -c
I guess we'll see how it all turns out. IIRC, nobody believed the
"dingo ate my baby" lady either, including me. I guess we all know how
wrong we were now.
scooter34
msmercury
Hey, I believed the dingo ate the baby. What I couldn't understand was why
everybody else didn't? There were witnesses to her laying the baby down,
tears in the tent IIRC, and blood spots right where they 'should have been'
to veryify the story Lindy related.
td
>
scooter34
my time. She was vilified, though, and convicted (right? It's been a
long time.) My point was that animals don't always behave the way we
think they should, and they don't leave the evidence we think they
should, either.
scooter34
eartha...@yahoo.com
Mistakes plagued hike that led to disappearance
Investigation shows Michelle Vanek and her partner were ill-equipped,
took wrong trail and separated
J.K. Perry
Vail Daily
December 8, 2005
HOLY CROSS WILDERNESS - Eric Sawyer spent five minutes on Mount Holy
Cross on a blustery, cold September day before he retreated to Half
Moon Trail and found his hiking partner, Michelle Vanek, missing.
A string of mistakes plagued Sawyer and the 35-year-old Front Range
mother of four, documents from the Eagle County Sheriff's investigation
show. The two took the wrong trail, had little food and water and later
split up.
Sawyer, 36, told police he had a bad feeling when the day started. He
left his lunch and water filter in Vanek's car at the trailhead to Half
Moon.
"He stated he was thinking to himself that this was a recipe for
disaster," Sheriff's Deputy Mark Linn reported.
The end result of Vanek's disappearance was a one-month criminal
investigation and the largest search-and-rescue operation in Colorado
history. Nearly 700 people participated in the search.
During the search, rescuers found few leads and lots of dead ends:
A watch hanging from a tree branch wasn't Vanek's.
A duffle bag containing a shotgun was found on Wednesday Sept. 26, 100
yards past the Cross Creek trailhead, deputies reported. Later that
day, a dog team spotted what appeared to be blood in the snow. No
footprints were found and teams could not follow up on the blood
because of foul weather, deputies reported.
'Only a day hike'
Sawyer and Vanek had planned for more than a year to hike one of
Colorado's fourteeners. Vanek left all the planning to Sawyer, who had
climbed 38 fourteeners, reports show.
At Half Moon Campground on the morning of Sept. 24, Vanek had on black
stretch pants, hiking boots, a windbreaker, hat and gloves. She carried
some energy bars, poles and a CamelBak full of water.
Dep. Doug Winters asked Sawyer why he would take a person who has never
hiked a 14,000-foot peak but not carry the necessary survival items in
case of an emergency.
"He stated it was only going to be a day hike," Winters reported. "He
stated they were not planning to stay overnight."
Leaving at 7 a.m., the two would soon make a miscalculation. Sawyer and
Vanek, who was complaining of a headache, ventured from Half Moon
Campground, intending to approach Holy Cross from the north on Half
Moon or North Ridge Trail. Sawyer told police Vanek was moving slowly
but not having any problems.
Near the trail to 13,000-foot plus Notch Mountain, Sawyer consulted his
map and found they were on the wrong trail. The two were on the Halo
Ridge route, a circuitous 9-mile route that approaches Holy Cross from
the southwest.
Behind schedule, Sawyer chose to push on, later telling police the two
would not have time to summit the peak if they turned back to look for
Half Moon Trail. Soon they came upon a hut where they stopped for 10 to
15 minutes to take shelter from the cold and wind.
At any given time, Vanek lagged behind Sawyer by up to 60 feet. Sawyer
told investigators he had to help Vanek keep up with him so they would
not fall even further behind schedule.
Before crossing a snowfield below the peak, Vanek told Sawyer she had
run out of water. He offered her an energy "goo," but didn't know if
she ate it.
Four hundred yards from the summit, Vanek told Sawyer she was tired and
could not go on. Sawyer told police he offered to go down and that
Vanek insisted he summit the peak.
Sawyer told Vanek to traverse the west slope of the peak to Half Moon
Trail, where he would catch up with her. It would have taken another 45
minutes to get off the mountain if Vanek didn't start toward the trail,
Sawyer said.
This is where rescuers have speculated Vanek headed west and fallen off
the ridgeline into the Cross Creek drainage, where large pine trees
could have blocked the views from search helicopters. The area consists
of a series of steep, wooded cliffs rescuers said would be too
difficult to explore without some of sign of where they should look.
Sawyer summited Holy Cross at 1:42 p.m. He called his wife to tell her
they would be late because they hiked the wrong trail. He met some
other hikers, Julie and William Taylor, and he exchanged small talk and
snapped some pictures. Julie Taylor said Sawyer was on the peak for
five minutes.
When Sawyer came down from summit, he could not find Vanek on the
trail. He went back to the snowfield where he left Vanek and did not
find her.
The Taylors heard what sounded like someone yelling "Help." Upon
inspection, the two found it was Sawyer yelling "Michelle."
Suspicious characters
A small team of rescuers began looking for Michelle that evening. The
next night, rescuer Brenda Parks and her partner ran into a man who
refused to talk to them and hid behind a tree to hide his face. He ran
down the hill.
No further contact was made with the man by rescuers or deputies.
The next day, Monday, rescuers confronted a suspicious person in a
yellow tent with a light on inside. The individual refused to unzip the
tent or respond, Linn reported.
Rescuers and deputies found a man coming off the trail they believed to
be the person in the tent. The man reluctantly told deputies after
prodding that his name was Peter Martin. He offered vague details about
where he lived and told deputies he had no identification. He had a
brown tent.
During the investigation, Sawyer was interviewed twice. On the second
occasion, Winters asked if Sawyer had any involvement in the
disappearance of Vanek.
"He stated he didn't," Winters reported. "I asked Eric if he harmed her
in any way. He stated he did not. At this point, Eric became upset. He
advised that he was not going to answer any more questions without an
attorney present."
Vanek's husband, Ben, was also interviewed. He said he loved his wife
and knew she and Sawyer did not have a romantic relationship. Ben Vanek
said he trusted Sawyer to take care of his wife.
But would he harm her?
"He stated Eric doesn't have a malicious bone in his body," Winters
reported.