A Marine who suffered a blow to his head during a hiking accident may have fled the area and is in military survival mode, rescue officials said Sunday.
“We don’t know what state of mind he’s in,” said Phil West, a commander with the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office. “He may have reverted into a military frame of mind and gone for cover.”
West said the official search for Lance Hering, 21, was being discontinued Sunday, the fifth day of the search. Hering was last seen in Eldorado Canyon.
Late Tuesday, Hering, who had completed a tour of duty in Iraq this year, suffered a blow to the back of his head while hiking with a friend. The friend, Steve Powers, left Hering in the canyon to find medical help, but by the time rescue crews returned early Wednesday, Hering could not be found.
“We feel we have given the effort everything we could,” West said. “We are confident that Lance is not in there.”
West said a crew of more than 100 official search personnel, bolstered by 200 volunteers, combed a 1-mile radius “three or four or five times.”
“If Lance was there, they would have found him,” West said. “Their heart is still there, but physically, they’re worn out, and we’re worried someone could be injured if we continue.”
A Denver police helicopter armed with infrared equipment searched the canyon Sunday.
Hering’s father, Lloyd Hering of Boulder, made an impassioned plea over local TV stations to his son.
“If you can see this, you’re not in trouble, man,” Lloyd Hering said, holding his son’s photo in his arms. “You haven’t broken one rule. Lance, come in. It’s cool.”
The father said Lance Hering suffered a similar head blow while jumping a fence when he was 11 that caused him to lose his memory back then. Lloyd Hering pleaded for people to be on the lookout for his son. He suspects Lance believes he is back in Iraq and fears he has gone AWOL.
“He’s a lost young man who hurt his head rock climbing and has now left the area,” the father said.
Lloyd Hering and his wife, Elynne, assisted rescue crews throughout Sunday. About midday, Elynne passed out from exhaustion and dehydration after returning to the base camp. Lloyd, later in the day, returned empty-handed and hugged his son’s girlfriend.
“Oh, I don’t hold up,” he said. “I break down and cry. Just can’t do that now.”
The Boulder Sheriff’s Office planned to conduct DNA testing on blood at the site where Lance Hering suffered his injury. A national bulletin also will be sent out alerting other departments to be on the lookout for Hering. Authorities also found a pair of socks Sunday and might do DNA testing to see if they belonged to Hering.
However, the search has been called off, and his family will just have to wait to see if he turns up. Hering is scheduled to return to Camp Pendleton in California this month.
Staff writer Chris Osher can be reached at 303-954-1201 or cosher@denverpost.com.
