Search for lost Minnesota hunter called off because of bad weather

[Bufflehead]

Search For Missing Hunter Called Off For Weather
(AP) Arlington, Wyo. The search for a Minnesota hunter lost in heavy timber south of here was called off Monday because of bad weather.

Charles Gustafson, 72, of Beltrami was last seen Wednesday morning in Carbon County, where he was elk hunting with a cousin and nephew, said Carbon County Sheriff Jerry Colson.

Colson said a winter storm expected to bring 10 to 14 inches of snow to the area Tuesday forced him to call an end to the search.

"We've done all we can do," Colson told the (Rawlins) Daily Times. "We searched hard, and we used a lot of resources, and we haven't found a thing."

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for Tuesday for the mountains.

Colson said Gustafson and his hunting companions left their camp, located about eight miles south of Arlington in the Medicine Bow National Forest, on Wednesday morning and went in different directions. Gustafson did not return to camp when he was supposed to that evening.

When he failed to return to camp, a hunter in his party fired three shots from his rifle, and heard three shots in return, Colson said.

Colson said up to 20 searchers on horseback, foot and all-terrain vehicles have been combing the area since then and have found "just no sign of him." Officials have also been using tracking dogs and a helicopter from Warren Air Force Base.

Gustafson had gotten lost the day before, the sheriff said.

"He went out last Tuesday hunting and got lost and a logger found him and brought him back to his camp," Colson said.

The hunters in the group said Gustafson seemed to be having an orientation problem, possibly due to the altitude, even though he had been in the area before.

Temperatures at night have dipped into the low 30s. Colson said the search by helicopter was halted Monday after a snowstorm moved into the area, but the search on the ground continued.

Between 3 inches and 5 inches of snow was expected into Monday evening.

Gustafson's daughter, Teri Gustafson, has been at her father's home waiting for word from authorities.

"They are doing everything they possibly can," she told the Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald earlier in the day while the search went on. "We have been helping by sending photos of things like his rifle to the Polk County Sheriff's office, who e-mail it to Wyoming."

The photos could be used to help identify any objects searchers might find.

Gustafson has been hunting for 60 years, and in the same area for more than 10 years, his daughter said. He also taught wilderness survival while he was in the military.

"He is in excellent health. This is most perplexing to the family. It just doesn't make any sense," she said.

Gustafson had both a compass and GPS equipment, his brother, James Gustafson, told the Herald.

"It's like he just vanished," he said.

The terrain is heavily wooded, and also has steep rocky areas that lead down to a creek. There are also many roads in the area, Colson said.

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 Send some prayers to this family, with this storm moving in, it could be a bad outcome to this already tragic story

[jigglestick]

that really sucks :(
I hope some way that old bugger finds his way to a road. hopefully his age works to his favor, in experience as a woodsman, to help himself stay warm and dry.
our thoughts go out for him.

[WoodChuck]

 HEY HEY ! THE GANGS ALL THERE, HUNTING AND FISHING COMRADERY. BEST WISHS AND LUCK TO THE FAMILIES.