Dog team to be used in search for missing hiker
Rocky Mountain National Park will send out a dog team this weekend to look for a hiker who has now been missing for three weeks, and then will reassess whether to continue search efforts beyond that.
Brian Joseph Perri, 38, was reported missing July 5, nearly a week after he went hiking in the park June 30 and sent a photo of himself atop the 13,911-foot summit of Mount Meeker to a friend.
In the days after he went missing, air and ground crews searched every day in 22.5 square miles in the area near Mount Meeker. But as weeks have gone by, search expeditions have been fewer and farther between.
The park said it sent out a dog team last weekend but did not announce any other searches this week, though Perri’s friends did organize their own search.
Park spokeswoman Kyle Patterson said the park would send in a dog team this weekend to once again search the area and would be “analyzing and continuing investigations,” but could not determine if it would continue to schedule searches.
“We will reassess after this weekend’s efforts as to the next steps,” Patterson said in an email.
Perri is 5 feet 9 inches tall and was last seen wearing a tan full-brim hat, sunglasses and a red backpack. He also may be wearing a yellow puffy jacket or yellow rain jacket.
He was intending only to go day hiking, and did not have a tent or camping equipment. However, Perri’s family said he did go through Army survival training.
Crews are asking anyone who has been hiking in the Mount Meeker area and saw Perri or other clues, including abandoned gear, to call 970-586-1204.
Friends of Perri also have created a Facebook page to track the search and a GoFundMe fundraising campaign to help with the efforts.