Investigators found the body of 23-year-old Lucas Macaj Thursday on the Mills Glacier section of Longs Peak after he went missing in Rocky Mountain National Park at the beginning of the week, according to a press release.
It appears that Macaj took a significant fall, the release said. Rocky Mountain National Park rangers completed an on-scene investigation and recovered Macaj’s body by helicopter.
The Boulder County Coroner’s Office will release the official cause of death.
Macaj was last heard from at 1 p.m. on Sunday when he texted a friend indicating that he was on the summit of Longs Peak. Rangers confirmed Macaj’s vehicle was still parked at the Longs Peak Trailhead early Monday morning.
Significant storms moved through high elevations in the park that afternoon, according to the release.
Search efforts began on Monday and have included air reconnaissance, ground teams and dog teams, who have searched the Longs Peak Trail and along the Keyhole Route, including areas above Black Lake, areas above Sandbeach Lake, the Hunter’s Creek Drainage to the base of Keplinger’s Couloir and areas near Chasm Lake to the Loft.
Agencies who helped the Rocky Mountain National Park Search and Rescue Team members with air reconnaissance include the Flight for Life air ambulance and aircraft from the Colorado Department of Fire Prevention and Control, including a fixed-wing aircraft outfitted with infrared and color sensors and a crew for helicopter air reconnaissance. Also involved were the Colorado Search and Rescue Association, Search and Rescue Dogs of the United States, the Larimer County Search and Rescue Dog Team, the Boulder County Sheriff Search and Rescue Dog Team, the Park County Search and Rescue Dog Team and the El Paso County Search and Rescue Dog Team.
