Searchers in the Holy Cross Wilderness Area found a 23-year-old Missouri man today who had been missing since Saturday.
Jacob Gately, 23, of Lee’s Summit, Mo., had hiked his way to an access road for a trailhead and was found by searchers, said Sara Cross, a deputy with the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office.
Gately was taken to Vail Valley Medical Center to be treated for exposure to the cold.
“He in stable condition,” Cross said. “He is very tired and hungry and cold after two nights in below-freezing temperatures,” Cross said.
Gately has been missing since 7 p.m. Saturday after he and his brother, Josh Gately, 24, also of Lee’s Summit, climbed the 14,005-foot Mount of the Holy Cross.
Cross said that the brothers were on their way down from the peak when they became separated at about 13,000 feet.
Josh Gately called 911 after his brother failed to return to the camp along the Half Moon trail, Cross said.
The Gatley family issued a statement: “We appreciate everything everyone has done. We … are very thankful and very grateful to have both sons back.”
The search was spearheaded by the Vail Mountain Rescue group, which spent Sunday looking for Gately.
The group’s search resumed this morning with 11 volunteers, a search dog and a helicopter pursuing leads developed Sunday, Cross said.
The area received up to 12 inches of snow since Saturday, said Cross, who added that fog had briefly delayed some of the searchers this morning. They were to be dropped into the area by helicopter.
Cross said that Jacob Gately, an experienced hiker, was not prepared to camp when he separated from his brother.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
