The search continues for 63-year-old Denver entrepreneur Donald Masters, who went missing Aug. 31 while on a solo motorcycle trip through the Bitterroot Valley in Montana.
Masters, a former attorney with Holme Roberts & Owen, was riding his Honda touring bike from California through Washington and Idaho to West Yellowstone. He was expected back in Denver Sept. 2, where he was to see his newborn granddaughter Ella for the first time.
“The last time I spoke to him (Aug. 26) he couldn’t wait to meet her,” said Caroline Turner, his former wife of 24 years.
But Masters never showed up. The family traced him to Darby, Mont., where law enforcement said it was almost certain Masters and his 2008 Honda Goldwing appeared on a traffic surveillance camera at 4:35 p.m. Aug. 31. He last used a credit card to purchase gas that morning in Lolo, Mont.
Masters had visited his two sisters, one in Walla Walla, Wash., on Aug. 29 and one in Orofino, Idaho, on Aug. 30.
Over the last week the search effort has grown to about 100 volunteers, including Masters’ son from London, his stepson and his brother-in-law, Turner said. They are combing more than 100 miles of possible routes.
Authorities in the counties of Clearwater, Idaho, and Missoula and Ravalli in Montana have been investigating the case since Sept. 10. They conducted a helicopter search of Lost Trail Pass Monday according to the Ravalli Republic.
Turners said Masters was in good health and spirits and wouldn’t just disappear or commit suicide.
“Absolutely not,” she said. “He had a lot to live for.”
Turner said the family is realistic about the odds of finding Masters alive after this much time.
Electa Draper: 303-954-1276 or edraper@denverpost.com
