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Remains Of Man Who Went Missing At Mesa Verde National Park Found

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Published Date

September 18, 2020
The remains of Mitchell Dale Stehling have been found at Mesa Verde National Park/NPS

The remains of Mitchell Dale Stehling have been found at Mesa Verde National Park/NPS

Seven years after a Texas man vanished while on a hike at Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado his remains have been found.

Mitchell Dale Stehling, 51, had set out in June 2013 for a short hike to the park's Spruce Tree House, a 130-room archaeological site with eight ceremonial chambers, known as kivas. The man's wife, Denean Stehling, speculated that her “directionally challenged” husband, hiking without water or a map on a hot and sunny day, might have been misled by a sign pointing to the Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum and inadvertently went off trail. 

A family spotted him on the nearby Petroglyph Point Trail. This 2.4-mile-long, narrow, and rocky path requires hikers to clamber in places up a stone staircase to reach the top. There are places along the trail where it wouldn’t be hard for someone to wander into the backcountry.

The family told Stehling’s wife they leapfrogged past one another and were together at the petroglyph panel 1.4 miles from the trailhead, but they never saw him afterwards. Neither did anyone else, though later there were reports from a hiker on the Petroglyph Point Trail who claimed to have heard someone calling for help.

Mesa Verde officials announced Friday that an anonymous tip led to the discovery of human remains in a remote area of the park. Park law enforcement rangers, with assistance from ISB and Montezuma County Coroner’s Office, located and retrieved the remains on Thursday.

"Personal items located with the remains are consistent with identification, and the presumptive identity of the remains is that of Mitchell Dale Stehling," the park said in a release. "DNA analysis will be performed to positively identify the remains. There is no indication of foul play. The remains were found approximately 4.2 miles from the point where Stehling was last seen."

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A Day In The Park: Mesa Verde National Park
National Park Service Settles On Plan To Stabilize Spruce Tree House At Mesa Verde

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Comments

Submitted by Bill on June 24, 2023 - 8:55am.

The reason the tips were anonymous is because the part of the park they found him in we're off limits with no trespassing signs. He remained anonymous so he wouldn't get in trouble.


Submitted by SF Suzi on January 13, 2024 - 10:29pm.

4.5 miles is only a few hours walk from where last seen. It's not clear that area was searched; 4.5 miles is 2800 acres of "remote" and rough terrain... added to the 2.5 mile Petroglyph trail area, nearby Spruce tree trail that runs almost parallel. If he fell into a crevice or down a cliff and took some rocks down with him (remember rockslide at Spruce tree House?) he could be pretty hidden/buried.


Submitted by Jessica on January 20, 2024 - 10:49am.

Things like this happen all the time at national parks, there's books and Series about people going missing in the parks. 


Submitted by Anne Mxx on February 4, 2024 - 10:33pm.

This man was an avid hiker. To go missing without a trace and to be found less than 5 miles away and 7 years later..,there's something not right. 


Submitted by Helena on February 16, 2024 - 11:43pm.

I think a lot of people want every death in this circumstance to be a murder for their own entertainment. They don't necessarily know what happened that day and think the news and all the shows give all the info. People do odd things, the person who search that area could have taken their eyes off the ground for a second and that's where he was. Yes, a lot of people have gone missing there, but it is a destination. Of course thoes numbers would go up. 


Submitted by Nancy on March 17, 2024 - 8:52am.

Wow, someone heard someone calling for help and did absolutely nothing but tell everyone much later, was it days, months or years, that they heard cries for help. What. The. Fudge. Are we humans that dumb? Unbelievable that someone would ignore cries for help especially where someone can fall off the edge. Omg. I have lost my faith in people. Disgusting. And I bet that numbskull doesn't realize to this day that they could have saved someone's life. SMH


Submitted by Vivi60 on April 22, 2024 - 2:18am.

Bonjour nous vivons en France exactement le meme cas avec le petit Emile ( qui a etait retrouve ( sont crane) a 2kms du point se depart... il ya meme eu un ancien major de la cia de votre pays qui avait donne la localisation ( via un don de voyance) ...   2024 France  et super votre description de l'affaire je suis d'accord avec vous sur tout les points 


Submitted by Vivien on April 22, 2024 - 2:32am.

C'est fou vous etiez sur place? Pourtant votre pays a un grand nombre de sauveteurs ( benevoles ou professionnels) dommages que le parc soir Restreint :/ car a ecouter un doc francais il y avait le lundi 10 juin il y avait 70 chercheurs a pied et a cheval et un helicoptere ( peut-etre que le youtubeur a de fsux chiffres

Et une journaliste vient au parc pour itw le rangers du parc en attendant elle va au parc et entend une voix d'homme qui dit j'ai besoin d'aide * une voix d'homme sur une portion de la promenade elle pense direct a l'homme disparu mais elle renocne a avancer plus sur le site qui n'est pas couvert par le reseau telephonique elle va a l'entree du parc prevenir les rangers qui declarent qu'eux aussi on entendu une voix mais non trouver personne (   faille temporel ? Ou crevace on ne sera jamais car ils partent sur un incendie a Colorado springs...

 

Je suis francais mais c'est histoire ma travaille....


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