Civil Air Patrol finds missing Fort Collins couple in Rocky Mountain National Park.

By John Cordsen of the Estes Park Gazette and Press Reports

A missing Fort Collins couple was located Thursday afternoon (Sept. 6th) following a five-day search by Larimer County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Services and Search and Rescue and Rocky Mountain National Park personnel in the rugged country north of Rocky Mountain National Park. Terence (Terry), 56, and Marion Jones, 49, had been missing since they failed to turn up Sunday following an overnight camping trip in the backcountry north of Chapin Pass. The couple was located southwest of the Big South Trailhead in the Roosevelt National Forest.

They were discovered Thursday morning around 10:30 a.m. when a Civil Air Patrol flight observed smoke coming from a cliff on the other side of the Big South Trailhead. Two individuals were seen waving. Search crews headed to this area, which was difficult to access. They reached the couple and positively identified Terry and Marion at approximately 1 p.m.

They were reported to be tired but in good health and were expected to be able to walk out of the area with the guidance of Emergency Services and Search and Rescue personnel. Once fed and hydrated the couple was scheduled to start the trek out which was expected to take approximately one hour or more.

Terry and Marion Jones were dropped off Saturday afternoon, Sept. 1 by their son at the Chapin Pass Trailhead located along the Fall River Road, in Rocky Mountain National Park. They are experienced hikers who had a backcountry permit to stay at the Flatiron backcountry campsite located near Hague Creek Saturday night. Their plan was to hike north via the Cache la Poudre River Trail and Big South Trail out to the Big South Trailhead on Sunday, Sept. 2 where they had parked their vehicle. They never arrived.

The initial search began in Rocky Mountain National Park and moved north after hikers in the area reported they sighted Terry and Marion Jones near Petersen Lake, north of the Park. Thursday, 24 searchers, nine posse members, six search dogs, two emergency services members on all terrain vehicles, five member support crew and 20 friends and family members participated in the search. Officials say communication between the search teams was difficult because each team had to radio their location and information to another team located on Crown Point, who in turn, relayed information down to the command center. The terrain in the search area was heavy, thick timber, much of which is “dead and down.”

Family and friends expressed relief upon hearing the news Terry and Marion were located and celebrated while awaiting their return from the backcountry.