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Body Of Missing Hiker Believed To Be Found At Rocky Mountain National Park

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Published Date

August 31, 2018

The body of Jens "Jay" Yambert of Illinois was believed to have been found Friday in the backcountry of Rocky Mountain National Park/HO

For the second time this summer, the body of a missing hiker has been found in the high, rugged backcountry of Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado.

Park officials said Friday evening that a body thought to be that of Jens "Jay" Yambert, 60, of Urbana, Illinois, was found earlier in the day west of Keplinger’s Couloir at an elevation of 12,600 feet in extremely steep, rugged terrain. Boulder County Coroner’s office will not release positive identification until completion of an autopsy, the park added.

Based on Friday’s weather and erratic winds, rangers planned to stay in the area overnight and start an investigation Saturday, possibly along with recovery of the body from the area. Due to the extended weather forecast for high elevations, it was unknown when complete recovery efforts would take place, park staff said. 

Yambert headed out Sunday afternoon, possibly from the Longs Peak Trailhead, but family members who reported him missing did not know where he planned to hike, a park release said. On Thursday morning some visitors told rangers that they had seen the Illinois man along the Keyhole Route on Longs Peak. The weather at the time was poor with ice, sleet, rain, and strong winds, they said.

Back on July 28 a body found in the park's backcountry was thought to be that of a Colorado man who was reported missing early in the month after failing to return from a day hike to Mount Meeker.

Park rangers turned the body over to the Boulder County Coroner's Office for identification, but it was believed to be that of Brian Perri, 38, of Fort Collins. The body was found by a park climbing ranger northwest of the summit of Mount Meeker in steep terrain.

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