GRAND COUNTY – Citing extreme weather conditions, rescuers have suspended their search for the 51-year-old hunter who disappeared in the Meadow Creek Reservoir area last weekend.
Richard Kothanek of Littleton was reported lost and overdue at around 4:30 p.m. Saturday. He went out at 8 a.m. for a short hunting trip by himself northeast of Fraser and hasn't been seen since.
Rescuers started combing the area for him that night, as temperatures dropped as low as -16 degrees.
During the next 48 hours, the Grand County Sheriff's Department estimates that at least 750 man hours were spent searching the area. Four dogs and military helicopters also contributed to the search, which yielded no clues about Kothanek's whereabouts.
Rescuers say weather made the search very difficult. It snowed all day on Saturday, and night temperatures on Sunday and Monday dipped into the single digits, and only reached the teens during the day.
The Grand County Sheriff's Office says if new developments arise, the search could resume.
(KUSA-TV © 2014 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)
