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Search of Longs Peak area begins Tuesday morning for missing U.S. Air Force cadet candidate

Micah Tice
Courtesy/RMNP

A search in the area of the Longs Peak Trailhead in Rocky Mountain National Park is slated to begin Tuesday morning after rangers were notified Monday afternoon of a missing man likely in the vicinity.

The U.S. Air Force Academy requested assistance in locating Micah Tice, 20, who is a cadet candidate after he was last heard from late Friday, according to park officials.

Tice’s vehicle was located Monday afternoon at the Longs Peak Trailhead, according to officials, though his planned destination was unknown.

Weather on Longs Peak on Saturday was poor with significant snow accumulation, extremely high winds and bitterly cold temperatures.

Members of Rocky Mountain National Park’s Search and Rescue team are coordinating search efforts that will begin early Tuesday morning. According to officials, teams will focus efforts on the lower sections of the Longs Peak Trail to the Keyhole and Chasm Junction.

Park rangers are asking for anyone who has been in the Longs Peak area since Saturday morning, or who may have had contact with Tice regarding his planned route on Longs Peak, to contact the park at (970) 586-1204.

Tice’s disappearance marks the third this year in the Longs Peak area of the park.

Ryan Albert, a 30-year-old man from New Jersey, was reported missing by a family member Oct. 5 who had last seen him leaving the previous day for Longs Peak.

Search efforts for Albert were forced to cease Nov. 2 due to poor weather and visibility.

Jens Yambert of Urbana, Ill., was reported missing in late August. His body was found by Rocky Mountain National Park’s Search and Rescue ground team members west of Keplinger’s Couloir at an elevation of 12,600 feet. The body was located in extremely steep and rugged terrain, according to officials.

While Yambert’s planned destination was unknown, a possible route may have been Clark’s Arrow to the summit of Longs Peak, according to park officials.


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