Man missing on Missouri Mountain is found “fine”

Searchers have found a man missing since Saturday when he began hiking to the summit of 14,075-foot Missouri Mountain.

Silverthorne resident Shuei Kato, 36, was found about noon Tuesday about five miles from the summit, said Chaffee County Sheriff John Spezze. Kato, who had built a fire, “is fine, ... in great shape, no physical problems.”

Spezze said he does not yet know what led to Kato being stranded on the mountain, nor did he know if he had made it to the summit. “We are still trying to figure out what he did,” Spezze said.

The search for Kato, whom Spezze originally identified as Shuei Pako, had resumed Tuesday after snow stalled rescuers Monday.

Kato planned to summit the peak Saturday morning and return home that afternoon.

Chaffee County Sheriff’s deputies found his vehicle at the trailhead and notified Chaffee County Search and Rescue.

On Sunday, more than 45 searchers looked for Kato, aided by three helicopters, but he wasn’t found.

The search was suspended at nightfall and was scheduled to continue Monday, but snow fell in the Collegiate Peaks Range.

The storm that knocked out power in parts of Denver also left about 4 new inches of snow at the top of the peak, said Chad Gimmestad, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Boulder.

While that isn’t a large amount of snow, it is significant enough to increase the risk for searchers, Gimestad said. “It doesn’t have to be that bad for it to be a risky thing. It’s not like you or I going out on a nice day and taking a hike.”

Spezze said searchers with “a little more tactical experience” and avalanche dogs had joined the effort Tuesday prior to finding him.