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Home : News : State Partnership Program
NEWS | July 6, 2011

Colorado Army National Guard discovers, recovers missing hikers

By Air Force Maj. Elena O’Bryan Colorado National Guard

CENTENNIAL, Colo. - A Colorado Army National Guard helicopter aircrew found two bodies on Missouri Mountain, Colo., at approximately 9:30 a.m. Saturday while assisting the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office search for a missing father and daughter.

While flying a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter along a ridgeline after transporting search and rescue personnel to a landing zone on the mountain, Army Col. Joel Best and Army Maj. Josh Day saw a body in a snowfield.

The aircrew picked up ground search team members and transported them closer to the body, which was at an elevation of 12,000 feet, about 500 feet above the main trail. The aircrew then noticed a second body about 200 yards above the first and directed the searchers to that location.

The Colorado Army National Guard helicopter airlifted the bodies to the field command post, where they were transferred to the custody of the county coroner, who identified them as Robert Michael Von Gortler, 53, and Makana Von Gortler, 20, both of Boulder, reported missing June 28.

The Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office notified their family.

The investigation into their deaths is continuing and is not expected to be completed for several days, Chaffee County officials said.

Army Sgt. Sean Browning was also among the aircrew. They are based at the High-altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site (HAATS) in Gypsum, Colo.

“The extraordinary assistance provided by the pilots and crews of the aircraft participating in the search was crucial to the operation,” said Chaffee County Sheriff Pete Palmer.

The search area was on the outer edge of the HAATS training area.

Earlier in the week, an OH-58 Kiowa helicopter piloted by two instructor pilots from HAATS also assisted search crews by conducting aerial observation in hard to reach areas.

The Black Hawk crew meanwhile transported search and rescue personnel and dogs to drainages and slopes on Missouri Mountain, Mount Balfour and Mount Oxford. The aircrew’s highest landing was at an elevation of 14,000 feet.
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The search, which began June 29, continued daily despite weather conditions involving rain, snow, and hail, producing poor visibility.

“It’s comfortable to fly with Soldiers experienced at managing power amidst the winds and weather in our backyard,” said Best, HAATS commander.

Best said the aircrews even contended with 40 mile per hour winds.

Palmer said the search involved about 180 volunteers from 18 search and rescue teams from across the state, many expert in mountain rescue.

HAATS performs a critical mission providing life-saving combat skills to American pilots serving in mountainous Afghanistan. The unit also supports civilian authorities with search and rescues in Colorado’s high country.

HAATS is located between Vail and Glenwood Springs, Colo.

The school trains military rotary-wing pilots from around the world in power management, which gives pilots the knowledge and confidence to operate their aircraft routinely and safely at maximum gross weights in any environment and especially at high altitudes in a power-limited environment.

Rescue efforts are coordinated through the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center, which notifies the Colorado National Guard’s Joint Operations Center in Centennial, Colo. The AFRCC ties into the Federal Aviation Administration’s alerting system and the U.S. Mission Control Center.