Mount Harvard

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The strange disappearance and death of Gene George from Mount Harvard

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gene george disappearance mount harvard

Gene George, disappeared September 19, 2013, body found March 24, 2014, North Cottonwood Creek Trail, Mount Harvard, Colorado

Gene George, 64, was last seen on Wednesday, September 18, 2013, on the North Cottonwood Creek Trail near Mount Harvard in Colorado.

He had spoken to a friend in Cleveland from a Buena Vista, Colorado hotel room saying he planned to hike into the Mount Harvard area on September 19 or 20.

Gene was an experienced hiker but not known to do overnight stays in the wilderness. He vanished and was never seen again.

What is and where is Mount Harvard and the North Cottonwood trail?

Mount Harvard, named in honor of Harvard University, is the third highest summit of the Rocky Mountains. The prominent 14,421-foot (4395.6 m) fourteener is the highest summit of the Collegiate Peaks and the fourth highest summit in the contiguous United States. It is located in the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness of San Isabel National Forest, 11.7 miles from the Town of Buena Vista in Chaffee County, Colorado.

The 4.3 mile North Cottonwood trail travels west into the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness and provides easy access for Kroenke Lake and the Horn Fork Basin below Mt. Harvard and Mt. Columbia (14, 073 feet). The hike to Kroenke Lake is especially beautiful during July when the wildflowers are in full bloom. The trail has numerous creek crossings and is lush and green with alpine vegetation.

Mount Harvard Colorado

The disappearance of Gene George and search

Gene was a partner with Ray Robinson lawyers located in Cleveland. But as well as being a lawyer he was a keen hiker in the wilderness.

A concerned employee from the hotel in Buena Vista notified local police on Sunday, September 22, 2013, when Gene failed to check out of his room.

A search began in the area around Mount Harvard that afternoon after authorities discovered George’s vehicle parked and locked at the North Cottonwood Creek trailhead.

His movements after that are not certain, although other hikers reported seeing a man fitting Gene's description that reached the summit of Mount Harvard on September 21st.

The Chaffee County Sheriff requested help from search teams in Summit, Eagle, Gunnison, Pitkin and Teller counties. Forty hikers, four search dogs and two horseback teams searched the area, together with two helicopters. But after four days the search was called off with no clues found. 

After the search for his body was called off, Gene's sister, Linda Petrigac, of Willoughby, donated $5,000 to the Chaffee County Sheriff's Department, saying at the time she wanted to thank them for all the hard work and dedication they put into finding him.

The discovery of the remains of Gene George

Then there was a breakthrough over six months later. On Sunday 23rd March 2014, whilst hiking, Karl Maes, 20, of Colorado Springs discovered a wallet and clothing in the underbrush and rugged terrain a quarter-mile off the trail to Mount Harvard and Mount Columbia. The hiker turned the wallet over to the sheriff's department and on Monday, March 24th search volunteers were gathered to scour the area.

Accompanied by Maes, search volunteers began searching at 8 am on Monday and discovered some remains about 3 hours later at around 11 am. The site was approximately 2½ miles from the North Cottonwood Creek Trailhead, where George’s car was found parked in September.

Chaffee County Coroner, Randy Amettis, said they had a sample of the missing hiker's DNA and later this was confirmed as being Gene. Authorities could not establish a cause of death, but they did not suspect foul play.

What happened to Gene George?

Another unexplained death in the wilderness.  

Why were Gene's wallet and clothing found in the undergrowth off-trail away from the remains? Had he gone to relieve himself and been attacked by animals or had a heart attack? The authorities dismiss foul play but who knows. 

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