CO CO - James Pruitt, 70, Glacier Gorge Trailhead, Rocky Mountain National Park, 28 Feb 2019

[cybervampira]

Estes Park News, Inc.

Search Efforts For Man In The Glacier Gorge Area

On Sunday, March 3, Rocky Mountain National Park rangers began search efforts for James Pruitt, 70, of Etowah, TN. After a vehicle parked at the Glacier Gorge Trailhead was determined to belong to Pruitt, rangers contacted Pruitt’s family in Tennessee. His family confirmed he was in the area and hadn’t been heard from since Thursday morning, February 28, at approximately 10 am.

Members of Rocky Mountain National Park’s Search and Rescue team searched the Glacier Gorge drainage, the Loch Vale drainage and the Glacier Creek drainage. Assisting Rocky Mountain National Park Search and Rescue Team members included Larimer County Search and Rescue Dog Teams, Diamond Peaks Ski Patrol and Rocky Mountain Rescue Group. There has been almost two feet of snow accumulation in the Glacier Gorge area since Thursday, February 28.

Search efforts will resume early Monday morning and include an expanded search area and additional search teams.

Park rangers would like to hear from anyone who has been in the Glacier Gorge and Bear Lake areas since Thursday, February 28, or who may have had contact with Pruitt regarding his planned route for Thursday. Please call Rocky Mountain National Park at (970) 586-1204.



Crews searching Rocky Mountain National Park for missing Tennessee man

 

[cybervampira]

Etowah man missing inside Rocky Mountain National Park

[...]

Search efforts continued Monday morning.

Park rangers are requesting the public's help in their search. Anyone who has been in the Glacier Gorge and Bear Lake areas since Thursday, February 28, or who may have had contact with Pruitt regarding his planned route for Thursday should call Rocky Mountain National Park at (970) 586-1204.

 

[cybervampira]

Authorities searching for missing man, 70, at RMNP

Almost two feet of snow has accumulated in the Glacier Gorge area since Thursday.

Members of Rocky Mountain National Park’s Search and Rescue team searched the Glacier Gorge drainage, the Loch Vale drainage and the Glacier Creek drainage on Sunday, but did not find Pruitt.

In addition to the Rocky Mountain National Park Search and Rescue Team, Larimer County Search and Rescue Dog Teams, Diamond Peaks Ski Patrol and Rocky Mountain Rescue Group helped in the search.

 

[zecats]

Lots of trails leave from that area. We once hiked up to Bear, Dream and Emerald Lakes during summertime, and it's steep and gets pretty chilly the farther up you go, even in July. I wonder what his destination was or why he wanted to do this in not-so-ideal conditions.

Google Maps

 

[JerseyGirl]

still missing: 70-year-old Tennessee man missing in Rocky Mountain National Park

 

[zecats]

still missing: 70-year-old Tennessee man missing in Rocky Mountain National Park

"Family members told park officials Pruitt was making his third winter visit to Rocky Mountain National Park over the past three years."

I guess that's where/when the photo of him was taken. He seems prepared in that one and also has some experience. Sad, this time may not have worked out well for him.

 

[GraceG]

The search has been officially called off. I hope someone finds him in the Spring for a proper burial. My prayers to his family. https://www.usnews.com/news/best-st...n-natl-park-suspends-search-for-missing-hiker

 

[zecats]

The search has been officially called off. I hope someone finds him in the Spring for a proper burial. My prayers to his family. https://www.usnews.com/news/best-st...n-natl-park-suspends-search-for-missing-hiker

There are several missing hikers now potentially waiting to be discovered when spring thaw arrives in RMNP. Two on Long's Peak (Micah Tice and Ryan Albert) and now Mr. Pruitt. As is most often stated, seems they were all doing something they loved when they went missing.

 

[ADKGemini]

Hopefully searches can resume soon.

 

[YaYa_521]

Major Search Effort Today For Clues Pertaining To James Pruitt Disappearance In February - Rocky Mountain National Park (U.S. National Park Service)
News Release Date: October 9, 2019

Snipped
Approximately fifty Rocky Mountain National Park Search and Rescue Team members were involved in additional search efforts for James Pruitt today, Wednesday, October 9. Pruitt was last heard from on February 28, 2019. Today’s search efforts were concentrated in off trail areas in the Prospect Canyon drainage and the Glacier Gorge drainage above Jewel Lake. Five teams, comprised of forty searchers, conducted grid searches in areas heavily covered with thick timber, dead and down trees, thick willow, tall grass and mountain streams.

Throughout the summer, smaller teams have focused specific search efforts in other segments of the search area. The general search area has also experienced significant visitation over the last four months. Unfortunately, no clues have been found.

RMNP search efforts for James Pruitt resumed this week – Estes Park Trail-Gazette
PUBLISHED: October 10, 2019 at 9:18 a.m. | UPDATED: October 10, 2019 at 9:18 a.m.

Major search efforts for the 70-year-old man who went missing in Rocky Mountain National Park in February resumed early Wednesday, according to a park official.

Snip

At this time, neither Pruitt or any of his belongings have been located.

Throughout the summer, small search teams have focused specific search efforts in other segments of the search area, Patterson said, but the general search area has been heavily populated with park visitors over the last four months.

Searchers in Rocky Mountain National Park seek signs, clues for man missing since February – Greeley Tribune
PUBLISHED: October 10, 2019 at 6:53 a.m. | UPDATED: May 13, 2020 at 2:03 a.m.

Snipped
Wednesday’s search unveiled no clues. Pruitt is considered missing, and park officials will continue to investigate his disappearance.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Still missing:

Four others are still missing: one person from 1933, two Colorado State University students in 1949 and another in 2019.

MISSING HIKER REMAINS FOUND: Human remains found in RMNP believed to be German hiker who went missing 38 years ago | FOX31 Denver

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Missing person James Pruitt.
NPS image.

Name: James Pruitt

Missing from: Rocky Mountain National Park

Date Missing: February 28, 2019

Description: Pruitt was 70 years old when he went missing. White male, 5'06" tall, 150 pounds, blue eyes, and brown/gray hair. Believed to have been wearing a dark blue jacket, red/orange beanie style hat, blue jeans, and carrying a small camera bag with a Nikon Coolpix 900 camera.

Case Info: Pruitt left from the Glacier Gorge parking lot on February 28, 2019, for a day hike to an unknown destination. US Park Rangers located his vehicle on March 3, 2019, and determined that though it had been parked overnight, no backcountry permit was associated with it. Rangers contacted Pruitt's family, who advised them that Pruitt had no intentions of staying overnight in the park, and they had last heard from him on February 28. The National Park Service initiated extensive search efforts in the area. Due to a lack of clues and extreme winter conditions, the search entered limited continuous operations on March 11, 2019. Additional coordinated search efforts were conducted on multiple occasions during the summer and fall of 2019.

Cold Cases - Investigative Services (U.S. National Park Service)

Please scroll through this roster of cold cases, which include missing persons, accidents or crimes in the National Parks that have yet to be solved and have no active leads.

www.nps.gov

 

[tarabull]

The mystery of missing persons in America’s National Parks

Many of the missing are eventually found, though not always alive.

www.wdtn.com

 

[Caring1]

James is still missing and has been added to NamUs.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

 

[PommyMommy]

James H. Pruitt – The Charley Project

James H. Pruitt​

Pruitt, circa 2019; Pruitt dressed in the clothes he was wearing on the day of his disappearance

• Missing Since 02/28/2019
• Missing From Estes Park, Colorado
• Classification Lost/Injured Missing
• Sex Male
• Race White
• Age 70 years old
• Height and Weight 5'6, 150 pounds
• Clothing/Jewelry Description A dark blue jacket, blue jeans, a reddish-orange beanie hat, ski goggles and micro-spikes on his shoes. Carrying a Nikon Coolpix 900 camera. A photo of Pruitt in those clothes is posted with this case summary.
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Gray hair, blue eyes.

Details of Disappearance​

Pruitt was last seen on February 28, 2019, when he went for a day hike to an unknown location in Rocky Mountain National Park. He left his car at the Glacier Gorge Trailhead parking lot and left to take his hike, and never returned. On March 3, U.S. Park Rangers found his vehicle still in the Glacier Gorge lot, with no sign of him anywhere, and began a search for him.

In the three days that had passed between Pruitt's disappearance and the time the search efforts began, over two feet of snow had fallen, obliterating any tracks that may have been there. In spite of extensive searches, no sign of Pruitt was found. His case remains unsolved, but he is presumed to have gotten lost or injured in the wilderness.

Last updated October 6, 2023; casefile added.