Crews Search For Missing Air Force Academy Cadet On Longs Peak
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (CBS4)- A search and rescue team started looking for a missing Air Force Academy cadet on Tuesday. Cadet Candidate Micah Tice was last seen Thanksgiving night.
Members from the Rocky Mountain National Park Search and Rescue Team and other teams looked along Longs Peak Trail, Boulder Field, the Keyhole Area and the trail to Chasm Lake on Tuesday morning.
Tice is described as a 20-year-old white man, about 5-foot-11 with dark hair and brown eyes.
Team members faced 90 mph wind speeds on Longs Peak as well as deep snow. The Colorado National Guard helicopter was forced to land because of the strong wind.
Officials say Tice told his sponsor family he was going to work on homework on Thursday night and maybe take a hike on Friday. Tice also called his parents, who live in Nevada, on Friday. Investigators tracked his phone signal near Woodman Avenue and Interstate 25 in Colorado Springs.
Monday evening, the Rocky Mountain National Park confirmed they are assisting in the search for Tice. They say his vehicle was found at the Longs Peak Trailhead Monday afternoon.
They say Tice's planned destination or route are unknown. They also say the weather was poor on the mountain on Saturday with "significant snow accumulation, extremely high winds and bitter cold temperatures."
Rescue crews will focus on the lower sections of the trail to the Keyhole and Chasm Junction on Tuesday. Those who hiked Longs Peak over the weekend and may have seen Tice are asked to call Rocky Mountain National Park at (970) 586-1204.
