Friends, family remember missing hiker

HUDSONVILLE, Mich. (AP) — Hundreds of people packed a West Michigan ballroom to remember a missing 19-year-old hiker who never returned from a day hike in Glacier National Park, and spoke of his love for the outdoors and his independent spirit.

Friday night’s service at The Pinnacle Center in Hudsonville drew friends and family of Jakson Kreiser, a seasonal worker at Lake McDonald Lodge in Montana whom officials believe was trying to hike across treacherous terrain on July 27. Park officials recently scaled back the search after finding no new clues of his whereabouts.

“We come together because we have nothing else to do than cling to each other,” Matthew Rozema, Kreiser’s close friend, said. “Jakson was meant to go out to Montana and find his one true love— the outdoors.”

Hudsonville High School history teacher Colin Sullivan saw Kreiser outside a store in June, and said he talked about his plans to explore the American West.

“This was a rite of passage for him,” Sullivan said, adding Kreiser was ready to “break free of our conventions.”

Sullivan joked about his former student’s “somewhat casual” work ethic, but also recalled a determination to succeed.

“You couldn’t stay mad at the kid,” Sullivan said.

Rozema said he had a dream after Kreiser disappeared in which his friend came to visit. Rozema said the pair talked for a long time in the dream, but Kreiser eventually said he had to go because people were searching for him.

“He lived the way he wanted to and no one was going to tell him otherwise,” Rozema said. “I know now that this was how it was meant to be.”