{"id":32975,"date":"2023-07-09T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-07-09T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/searching-for-ian-obrien\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T02:05:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:05:10","slug":"searching-for-ian-obrien","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/searching-for-ian-obrien\/","title":{"rendered":"Searching for Ian O\u2019Brien"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"James
James Holderer, at the computer, and others look over a map at the incident command center in the search for missing runner Ian O\u2019Brien on Thursday in the La Plata Mountains. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

LA PLATA MOUNTAINS \u2013 Weeks ago, as Eli Weitzman was packing his bike for a trip from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to Fernie, British Columbia, his mind meandered to his friend, Ian O\u2019Brien.<\/p>\n

\u201cIan would do this with half the amount of stuff and no planning,\u201d he thought with admiration.<\/p>\n

Weitzman had made it 600 miles, to Whitefish, Montana, when he got the word that O\u2019Brien was missing. The 28-year-old ultra runner disappeared while running near Hesperus Mountain the evening of June 24.<\/p>\n

\"Char
Char Ney, left, and Mags Frantz, right, hug during the morning briefing on Thursday, the 12th day in the search for missing runner Ian O\u2019Brien, at Lucy Halls Park in the La Plata Mountains northeast of Mancos. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

So Weitzman hopped off his \u201cfreedom machine\u201d \u2013 a term for bicycles he learned from O\u2019Brien in the early days of their friendship \u2013 rented a car and drove to Southwest Colorado.<\/p>\n

The headquarters for the search sits at Lucy Halls Park, in Echo Basin, a field surrounded by wildflowers at the toe of Hesperus Peak, where O\u2019Brien and his partner, Beth Henshaw, went to camp with their friends, Ashley and Mike Higgs.<\/p>\n

Dedicated \u201ceasy-up\u201d tent shelters cover a stash of food, a camp kitchen and an incident command center replete with radios, satellite communication devices and colorful maps documenting the 12,000 acres that volunteers have searched.<\/p>\n

\"The
The terrain in the La Plata Mountains is a vast, unforgiving and mysterious wilderness. Searchers have covered more than 12,000 acres of ground in the search for missing runner Ian O\u2019Brien. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

O\u2019Brien, a rugged and experienced outdoorsman, spent most of the last six years living in Southwest Colorado and moved to Page, Arizona, a month ago.<\/p>\n

Although he knows the La Plata Mountains well, he has epilepsy and his friends worry that he likely suffered a seizure while returning to camp, which rendered him disoriented and or incapacitated.<\/p>\n

The terrain is a vast, unforgiving and mysterious wilderness. In October 2022, another runner, David Lunde of Durango,<\/a> disappeared in the same area and was never found.<\/p>\n

\"Travis
Travis Soares, a friend of Ian O\u2019Brien\u2019s from college, drove from Mt. Shasta to search for his missing friend. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
\n

Missing person<\/h4>\n

Ian O\u2019Brien was last seen the evening of June 24 on Hesperus Mountain wearing a gray tank top, black shorts, tennis shoes and possibly had a long-sleeve hiking shirt. He is 6\u20194\u201c, 187 pounds with blue eyes and blonde hair.
\n Anyone who sees O\u2019Brien should call 911.
\n Information about joining the search and donations can be found at bit.ly\/findianobrien<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Montezuma County Search and Rescue suspended the official search for O\u2019Brien on June 28, but the volunteer effort only swelled since then.<\/p>\n

About 25 people gathered on Thursday, day 12 of the search, each trying to balance their own emotions.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody is grieving and motivated, hopeful and hopeless,\u201d Henshaw said.<\/p>\n

A potent aura of love, sorrow, hope and realistic knowing hung thick over the camp as volunteers gathered for the morning briefing.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur top priority is safety,\u201d O\u2019Brien\u2019s college friend, Travis Soares, said, sounding weathered but remarkably clearheaded after 10 days of searching through waist-high brush.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter fun,\u201d Mike Higgs, an incident commander, chimed in.<\/p>\n

The group chuckled in harmony.<\/p>\n

\"Ethan
Ethan Atkins, a friend of missing runner Ian O\u2019Brien, gave a somber but familiar set of directions at Thursday morning\u2019s briefing. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Ethan Atkins, another friend from Prescott College, delivered directives on what to do if O\u2019Brien was found alive that day, and what to do if he was found dead. After nearly two weeks of searching, it was a somber, but familiar set of directions.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou guys have heard it so many times, you\u2019re so good at it now!\u201d Incident Commander Ashely Higgs joked.<\/p>\n

Again, laughter.<\/p>\n

Each team signed out, equipped with radios and InReaches (satellite devices that can send an S.O.S. signal to authorities in the event that O\u2019Brien was found alive) and hiked toward a grove of Aspens, where they would trip and trudge in a line through the forest understory, searching for their friend.<\/p>\n

\"The
The search for missing runner Ian O\u2019Brien is highly organized, despite the decision of Montezuma Sheriff Steve Nowlin to pull out search and rescue crews after four days. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Weitzman and Henshaw stayed in camp that morning. They were tired, Henshaw from searching and Weitzman from his 18-hour drive he made the day before to get there.<\/p>\n

The two were roommates in 2020 when O\u2019Brien and Henshaw met. With a cheeky, boyish smile, Weitzman revealed how he set up the couple by repeatedly inviting O\u2019Brien over for dinner, but departing before he arrived, leaving O\u2019Brien and Henshaw alone.<\/p>\n

The old friends united in a deep belly laugh.<\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t imagine being anywhere else right now,\u201d Weitzman said. \u201cAnd this is exactly how I thought things would be here. We know that there\u2019s something really important going on, but we can still bathe in community and in hope and a little bit of humor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The
The search camp for missing runner Ian O\u2019Brien on Thursday is located in Lucy Halls Park northeast of Mancos in the La Plata Mountains. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
\u2018We are home right now\u2019<\/div>\n

O\u2019Brien is someone who friends describe as \u201chappiest outdoors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe average person hasn\u2019t lived that many places and created community that many places,\u201d Henshaw said. \u201cIan doesn\u2019t want to live anywhere. Two or three years is good in one place. That\u2019s long enough to develop a deep community.\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Brien\u2019s community stretches across the nation and even internationally; thousands of people have contributed to the effort.<\/p>\n

When he went missing, Henshaw spread the word on social media immediately, knowing that an army of loyal friends, most of whom share O\u2019Brien\u2019s exuberance for the wilderness, would leave their jobs and come looking.<\/p>\n

\"Friends
Friends of missing runner Ian O\u2019Brien climb out of their vehicles on Thursday morning. Dozens of friends left homes and jobs to join the search for the runner, who has been missing since June 24. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cThese people are different,\u201d she said. \u201cWe live in our cars. We\u2019re home right now. \u2026 We\u2019re able to say, \u2018F\u2014 this job, we don\u2019t need it. We\u2019ll get another job in a few weeks. I\u2019m out. I\u2019m taking all my s\u2014 and I\u2019ll be there in 12 hours and I can stay for 12 days.\u201d<\/p>\n

By the 12th day of searching, the number of volunteers had shrunk from a high of 78, over the Fourth of July weekend, down to about 25. Some of those who had shown up on day 1 had begun to reintegrate jobs and other commitments back into their lives. But a new phalanx of volunteers, mostly O\u2019Brien\u2019s friends from Prescott College, had also arrived.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Brien\u2019s sisters and parents have activated a network in their hometown of Roxbury, New York, and people are spreading the word, reviewing drone footage for clues, and praying for O\u2019Brien across the country (although, Henshaw said, dirt roads were the only thing O\u2019Brien considered to \u201cchurch\u201d).<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re using everything: spirituality, intuition, logic,\u201d Henshaw said. \u201cEverything comes back to logic. But when spirituality and intuition lines up with logic, we hit it hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The
The search camp for missing runner Ian O\u2019Brien on Thursday is located in Lucy Halls Park northeast of Mancos in the La Plata Mountains. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The list of businesses and organizations in Mancos, Cortez and Durango that have contributed food and resources to the search grows longer each day. More than 1,100 people have collectively raised close to $100,000 on GoFundMe<\/a>, which has been used to purchase InReaches and radios and hire search helicopters.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe world is a lot smaller when stuff like that starts happening,\u201d said O\u2019Brien\u2019s sister, Molly O\u2019Brien.<\/p>\n

Residents of Southwest Colorado with no connection to O\u2019Brien have delivered food and water, shown up with dirt bikes and ATVs, and stopped by to clean up camp when search teams are out.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would be out searching and we\u2019d come back and there would be another easy-up and we wouldn\u2019t even know who set it up,\u201d Henshaw said.<\/p>\n

Silvina Moore and her husband Jeremy live in Mancos and saw the missing person flier a few days into the search. They called the number to learn more, and were frustrated by the lack of information.<\/p>\n

So Silvina Moore, who builds websites as a part of her job, built a website through which information is now funneled. She and her husband have no connection to O\u2019Brien, other than a few degrees of separation through friends.<\/p>\n

As Silvina Moore sits in camp working on the website (thanks to someone who decided, unprompted, to donate a Starlink setup to outfit the incident command center with internet), Jeremy Moore combs the woods with search crews.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir love for him is pretty infectious,\u201d Jeremy Moore said. \u201cIt\u2019s weird, you feel pretty connected to him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Ian
Ian O\u2019Brien lived in Southwest Colorado for six years before he moved to Page, Arizona, last month. He went missing in the La Plata Mountains on June 24 while on a camping trip with his partner and two friends. (Courtesy of Kelsey O'Brien Rodriguez)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
Balancing hope, grief<\/div>\n

A tender range of emotions abound at the search headquarters. Volunteers have fun, donning wigs and carrying rubber chickens \u2013 an outdoor essential for O\u2019Brien \u2013 but take time to comfort one another.<\/p>\n

Food, water, personal hygiene items \u2013 these things just appear in Henshaw\u2019s hand now thanks to the robust community.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wake up, get out of my van and walk down, and by the time I get here, there\u2019s a cup of coffee in my hand every day,\u201d Henshaw said. \u201cSomeone\u2019s like, \u2018Hey, here\u2019s a hair brush.\u2019 Everyone\u2019s thinking for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Thursday, she seemed to forget she was holding her breakfast plate almost as soon as it had been handed to her. Henshaw was hungry but too busy discussing a new theory on O\u2019Brien\u2019s whereabouts to tend to the slab of quiche, the cinnamon roll and pile perky red strawberries on her plate.<\/p>\n

\"Mike
Mike Higgs, left, Ashley Higgs, center, and Beth Henshaw discuss the search for missing runner Ian O\u2019Brien on Thursday morning. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

On Wednesday, three runners had departed camp at 2:30 p.m. and followed O\u2019Brien\u2019s route to the top of Hesperus Mountain, where they arrived at the same time he had. They then headed west, off the peak, toward tracks found during the first night of searching that matched O\u2019Brien\u2019s size 14 running shoes.<\/p>\n

Soares, one of the three runners who retraced O\u2019Brien\u2019s likely path, has spent days running in the backcountry and knows O\u2019Brien\u2019s pace and instincts.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe told Beth that he would be out for seven hours, so I got to his last tracks and from there, basically did a loop out over this way, which was about seven hours,\u201d Soares said, wading through heavy brush.<\/p>\n

\"Travis
Travis Soares waded through deep brush Thursday, his 10th day of searching for Ian O\u2019Brien. The evening before, Soares had retraced O\u2019Brien\u2019s route, hoping to develop new theories on his whereabouts. (Reuben Schafir\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The new theory elevated the spirits of the searchers, many of whom are caught in the exhausting position of needing to tend to their bodies, by resting, and needing to tend to their hope, by searching.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to reassess every single day and question what he\u2019s doing, where he\u2019s at,\u201d Soares said. \u201cIs he getting water? Is he eating food? But Ian is one of the strongest humans I know.\u201d<\/p>\n

The volunteers share a common sense of grief, but nobody is confident yet that the feeling is warranted. Even Soares slips between speaking of O\u2019Brien in the past tense and present tense.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Ian is alive, that\u2019s great,\u201d Atkins said. \u201cAnd if he passed over, this is where it would be. And he would be psyched.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hesperus Mountain \u2013 the last place O\u2019Brien was known to be for certain, looms in the backdrop of camp. Henshaw said it brings her comfort.<\/p>\n

\u201cI moved my van up there so that when I sleep, the first and last thing I see is Hesperus, every day,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

rschafir@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

A previous version of this story misspelled Silvina Moore\u2019s name. The story has been updated.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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