Search enters fifth day

Limited clues were identified Tuesday in the continuing search for missing hiker Jakson Kreiser in Glacier National Park.

The search enters its fifth day today.

Partial boot tracks were found that are very similar to the boots believed to be worn by Kreiser, plus information was received by a hiker in the area over the weekend.

One of the 12 search teams that included certified trackers with the North Valley Search and Rescue Team and a Glacier National Park employee identified partial tracks that match the sole pattern of boots believed to be worn by Kreiser.

The tracks were located near Mary Baker Lake in the Floral Park area, where search efforts will continue.  

The park also received a call from a hiker who was on the Hidden Lake Trail on Saturday. The hiker provided credible information that helps establish timing and location of Kreiser on Saturday morning.  

Kreiser left for a solo day hike Saturday and never returned.

According to Incident Commander Scott Emmerich, “The clues identified yesterday are valuable in helping narrow our focus for the search efforts, and they help to identify the areas of highest probability of finding Mr. Kreiser.”

Emmerich said the park and the many partners in the search are committed to do all they can to find Kreiser.  

Several volunteers from North Valley Search and Rescue assisting with the search operation are trained and certified trackers.

They help look for tracks and evidence that may help in an investigation or search incident. The U.S. Border Patrol also has trained trackers, as well as specialized canine search teams, assisting with the search. Other members of local search and rescue teams of the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office are supporting the incident as well.  

Ground and aerial searches have been conducted since Sunday, with several crews staying overnight in the backcountry.

A Minuteman helicopter has been involved in aerial searching that has required multiple sweeps, said Ranger Kyle Johnson, who is in charge of field and aviation operations.

“Every time the sun changes angle a little bit you get a different look into a drainage or ravine, so you can’t search it once and be comfortable,” he said. “You have to search it at different times of day.”   

The park also is using forward looking infrared technology from the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, using thermal imaging cameras that detect heat sources. It is being used in early morning operations before the rocks and vegetation warm.  

The search area is focused in the area between Hidden Lake and Avalanche Lake. Kreiser’s vehicle was located in the Logan Pass Visitor Center Parking Lot and it is believed that he was attempting a day hike from Logan Pass to Avalanche Lake.

His intended route is in some treacherous country filled with rock cliffs, water falls, wet and slippery rocks and boulders, and dense vegetation. The descent is more than 4,000 feet in steep conditions.

Park officials, after talking with Kreiser’s roommate and friends, believe that he meant to hike from Logan Pass to Avalanche Lake on Saturday and possibly climb down some of the exposed rock faces, park spokeswoman Denise Germann told The Associated Press.

Germann said the park’s investigation revealed Kreiser has very limited backcountry experience and officials believe he has “minimal equipment with him.”

Kreiser, 19, is a seasonal employee from Michigan who works for Glacier Park Inc. at Lake McDonald Lodge.  

Kreiser is 6 feet 2 inches tall with short, black curly hair and a black beard. It is believed he is wearing a yellow sweatshirt and gray pants, and carrying a gray and yellow backpack.

Anyone who may have been in the Logan Pass, Hidden Lake, Floral Park or Avalanche Lake areas over the weekend and may have seen Kreiser, is encouraged to contact park dispatch at 406-888-7800.

Last year, a seasonal employee died after he fell several hundred feet down a steep mountainside while on a solo day hike in Glacier. Jacob Rigby was reported missing in late August and his body was found several days later.

In 2008, a park visitor following much the same route as Kreiser died. His remains were not found until last year.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.