CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – A pair of hunters from Charlottesville have been missing in Colorado since Thursday evening.
Andrew Porter and Ian Stasko, both 25, were hunting in the Rio Grande National Forest, off the Los Pinos trail head, in Conejos County, Colorado, according to Undersheriff Blake Crowther.
Neither has been heard from since Thursday, setting off a desperate search for the two men as cold storms hit the area over the weekend.
“We have had a massive response from the public and have implemented help from numerous Search and Rescue Teams from within Colorado and New Mexico,” Crowther told Cville Right Now. “We have been using horse teams, drones, helicopters and sophisticated aircraft in the search, not to mention numerous individuals on foot including tracking dogs.”
Porter’s fiancée, Bridget Murphy, confirmed the situation to Cville Right Now on Monday night.
The Conejos County Sheriff’s Office is coordinating the search, is using aerial support, and has requested experienced hunters and hikers, on foot or horseback, to aid the effort looking for the two men, according to a social media post by Murphy. Dogs will join the search if the men haven’t been located by Tuesday morning.
Stasko and Porter went to James Madison University for college.
Supporters of the families have launched a Go Fund Me page to raise money to aid the search and continue to encourage volunteers to reach out to the Colorado State Police at 719-589-5807 or the Conejos County Sheriff’s Office at 719-376-2196, especially if they are trained in search and rescue or have access to helicopters.
