A 79-year-old man never returned to his vehicle after scouting for a hunting spot in the Colorado wilderness, his family said. His wife was waiting in the car.
Jim Shadid was looking for animal tracks with his wife, Marilyn Shadid, on Sunday, Sept. 3, near Line Canyon, according to his daughter Jamie Shadid and La Plata County Search and Rescue.
They were preparing for the elk hunting season, Jamie Shadid told McClatchy News by phone.
His wife returned to their vehicle, and Jim Shadid continued down a trail. He didn’t bring a pack of supplies with him because he was going to “look briefly and come back to the car,” his daughter said.
After about 45 minutes, he called her by a radio and said he would return in 20 minutes.
But he never did.
“I wasn’t that concerned about him,” Marilyn Shadid said.
The couple has been married for 56 years, and Jim Shadid has “decades of experience” in the wilderness, so she thought he would eventually find his way back.
Once hours passed, she said she started to get worried.
Hunters who were in the area started looking for Jim Shadid and also couldn’t find him. They called the search and rescue team, Marilyn Shadid said.
Rescuers have been trying to find him for the past three days.
Jim Shadid was last seen wearing a tan “Safari” hat and likely wearing long khaki pants. He’s 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighs about 140 pounds.
“We are not giving up hope that he is out there in the wilderness alive and well!” Jamie Shadid said in a Facebook post.
A website was created for the public to follow search and rescue updates.
La Plata County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for more information Sept. 6.
Line Canyon is about 35 miles north of Durango, in southwestern Colorado.
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