Rather unusual behavior by a visitor:

Rocky Mountain National Park (CO)
Search In Progress For Man Walking Trail Ridge Road

A search is in progress for a New York man who disappeared while attempting to walk over the Rockies on Trail Ridge Road despite warnings from park rangers.

On Monday, January 26th, park rangers contacted Jay Starr Jr, 34, from Cohoes, New York. Starr had entered Rocky Mountain National Park on foot and said that he was planning to walk westbound over Trail Ridge Road. Rangers advised him against this based on his behavior and his lack of preparedness for winter alpine conditions. Starr was wearing tennis shoes, jeans or tan canvas pants, and a black/blue jacket. He had no hat or gloves and was carrying a plastic grocery bag.

Trail Ridge Road is the highest continuous paved road in the United States, with its highest point reaching 12,183 feet. Over ten miles of the road are above 11,500 feet. The road closed to vehicles for the season on November 4th. The road is not maintained during the winter. Conditions on the road range from bare wind-blown asphalt to deep snow drifts.

On Tuesday afternoon, rangers on skis contacted Starr above Many Parks Curve on Trail Ridge Road. They were concerned for his welfare and were attempting to assist him. Starr fled from the rangers up a dry section of the road, though, and continued to elude rangers until darkness fell.

Beginning early on Wednesday, two teams of rangers attempted to locate Starr again on the road – one team coming from the east side of the park and the other team from the west side. They faced wind gusts of 50 to 60 miles per hour. These high winds and blowing snow hampered their efforts to follow Starr’s footprints. Aerial operations were not possible due to the high winds. The entire road corridor was checked, but Starr was not located.

Yesterday, rangers again attempted to locate Starr in areas around Trail Ridge Road.

Rangers have been assisted over the last two days by a Colorado Parks and Wildlife officer with an all-terrain vehicle equipped with snow tracks. Yesterday’s operations were also aided by an over-snow tracked vehicle and operator from Estes Park Power and Light. The motorized equipment is only being used on Trail Ridge Road.

Park rangers would like to hear from anyone who might have information on Starr’s whereabouts. Please call (970) 586-1204.