A 19-year-old Avon man went missing Wednesday night in Grand County near the entrance to the Gore Canyon on the Colorado River, near the Applesauce/Fisherman’s Nightmare Rapids.

County authorities were actively searching for the man throughout Thursday conducting searches from the air, ground, river and local railroad tracks. Officials from the Grand County Sheriff’s Office (GCSO) confirmed the search operations Thursday afternoon, which included an extensive helicopter search of the area with kayakers and rafters assisting authorities from the river.

According to Lt. Dan Mayer, GCSO Public Information Officer, the missing teen was camping in the Gore Canyon area with a friend Wednesday night when he disappeared. Authorities received the initial call at 6:44 a.m. Thursday morning July 21. The reporting party (RP) was a friend of the missing teenager who was camping with him at the time of his disappearance.

The RP informed authorities he had left his camp Wednesday around midnight to look for firewood and when he returned to camp his friend was missing. The RP told authorities he continued searching the area for his missing friend throughout the night and called 911 Thursday morning.

An extensive search of the Gore Canyon area continued throughout the day Thursday and into the evening, yielding no results. Grand County Search and Rescue and the GCSO conducted ground searches while a Flight for Life helicopter was brought in to search from the air. After eight hours of searching the area for the missing man authorities expanded their search to include deeper water near the campsite.

“This area is extremely remote and is not accessible by vehicle,” states a press release from the GCSO.

Family members of the missing teen have responded to the area. Authorities initially suspended the search Thursday evening due to weather but were able to resume searching for the missing man after a break in the weather and following a reported possible sighting in the area.

“This search will not be officially suspended for the night until all leads have been exhausted or the weather prohibits continuing,” states an updated press release from the GCSO.