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National Park Rangers Trying To Find Missing Hiker

ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK, Colo. (AP) — Rangers in Rocky Mountain National Park are trying to find a New York man who disappeared while hiking over a mountain road covered in snowdrifts wearing only tennis shoes, pants, a jacket and no hat or gloves, carrying a plastic grocery bag.

Park spokeswoman Kyle Patterson said Thursday that rangers were using a helicopter and vehicles with snow tracks, including one from Estes Park Power and Light, as the search continued for Jay Starr Jr., 34, of Cohoes, N.Y.

Patterson said park rangers became concerned and tried to talk Starr out of his plans after he walked into the park and told them he was planning to walk westbound over Trail Ridge Road, where the highest point reaches 12,180 feet, the highest continuous paved road in the United States.

Conditions on the road range from bare wind-blown asphalt to snow drifts up to 6 feet deep, Patterson said.

"We don't register visitors, the park is open 24 hours a day and we have people coming into the park all times of day. Starr came into the park on foot and when he said he planned to hike up Trail Ridge Road, they became very concerned. He was very ill-prepared," Patterson said.

On Tuesday, park rangers on skis contacted Starr above Many Parks Curve on Trail Ridge Road, about 8 miles up the mountain road. Rangers told Starr they were concerned for his welfare and wanted to help him. Rangers said Starr fled up a dry section of the road and eluded rangers until darkness fell.

On Wednesday, two teams of rangers, one from the east side of the park and the other from the west side of the park, battled 60-mile-an-hour winds and blowing snow to try to find Starr's footprints and they found no trace.

Patterson said park officials have contacted relatives and are also trying to contact people who know Starr to see if they have any information on where he is and where he is going.

(© Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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