Hunter Is Missing as Snows Strike Colorado; 11 Others Are Rescued

DENVER — One Oklahoma hunter was missing Monday and about a dozen others were stranded in remote sections of southwestern Colorado after heavy snowstorms causing drifts of up to five feet blanketed the area, sheriffs’ offices said.

“We are still searching for one hunter,” said Linda Stock, spokeswoman for the La Plata sheriff’s office in Durango.

Bob Chance, 45, of Ponca City, Okla., separated from three other hunters in his party Saturday morning and has not been seen since, she said. However, he was dressed warmly and had some provisions.

Sheriff Russell Hebert of neighboring Archuleta County said 10 stranded hunters were found Sunday night and an 11th, who was lost in the adjacent county of Hinsdale, was found Monday.

The slow-moving winter-like storm over the Rockies dumped more than a foot of snow in parts of Colorado and Wyoming on Monday, adding to weekend accumulations. A winter storm warning was posted for the Big Horn Mountains.

The hunting season got under way Saturday. On that day a hunter from Minnesota accidentally shot his 33-year-old son just over the northern border with Wyoming, investigators said. Conditions were very foggy, they said, and the victim’s bright orange safety vest was found near the body.