Estes Park – Dale and Chris Christen sen plan to stay in Colorado indefinitely. They said they will not return to their Minnesota home until their son is found.
“We want to be here if they find him,” Dale Christensen said. “No matter when they find him.”
Their son, Rocky Mountain National Park ranger Jeff Christensen, headed out alone on a patrol of the rugged Mummy Range on Friday morning and has been missing ever since.
On Wednesday, about 100 people, four helicopters and five dog teams continued to scour the rugged and remote Rocky Mountain National Park for any sign of the 31-year-old Christensen.
Search crews planned to start camping in the area overnight in hopes of covering more ground during the day, said incident commander Eddie Lopez.
But after five days of searching, even Christensen’s parents acknowledge that the best-case scenario would be that their son is in bad shape.
“We’re hoping for something like a fall and a broken leg … anything like that,” Dale Christensen said. “That would be a highlight for my day.”
What keeps the parents and rescuers optimistic is that Jeff Christensen is fit and experienced. Aron Ralston – the hiker who in 2003 amputated his own arm after being pinned under a rock for five days – is mentioned as evidence that Christensen could still be alive.
“He’s very strong in what he does,” Dale Christensen said.
Jeff Christensen, at one point a ski racer, found a calling in Colorado while still in school at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Before he finished school, he had already decided to move to the Rocky Mountains. He quickly joined the Winter Park ski patrol, a position he has held for the last seven winters.
Soon, he was calling home to explain backcountry travel in his duties as a ranger to his parents.
“This is his home,” Chris Christensen said. “He loves it here.”
For the Christensens, the situation is surreal. Recalling being recognized as the mother of “the missing ranger,” Chris Christensen said she couldn’t believe “that we are in that position.”
Christensen’s parents praised rescuers and park staff for their efforts. They continue to hope that more people may have seen their son Friday.
“We just hope and pray that somebody comes forward and has seen him,” Dale Christensen said. “That’s all we can do.”
A family from Chanute, Kan., told park officials of seeing Jeff Christensen near the summit of Mount Chiquita around 1:30 p.m. Friday and described him as being in good spirits.
Authorities hope more witnesses will offer details about where the missing ranger may have been. Anyone with information is asked to call 970-586-1204.
Staff writer George Merritt can be reached at 720-929-0893 or gmerritt@denverpost.com.
