Found Safe ID/MT - Kaden Laga, 20, riding horses w/family, separated, Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, 11 Aug 2019

[GuyfromCanada]

A search continues in the mountains of Montana and over the border in Idaho for Kaden Laga, 20, of Orem. He was reported missing Monday.

According to media and family reports, Laga was riding horses with family members and one of the horses became lame. Laga said he would walk the horse and split off from the group, planning to meet up with them at 3 p.m. Sunday. He never showed up.

More at Authorities search for Orem man missing in Montana mountains

Search continues for man lost near Twin Lakes

Wow, this is large area to search! Hopefully Kaden will be located safe.

 

[GraceG]

Praying for this young man and his horse.

 

[Rosegold68]

No horse either? Hope there’s helicopters out

 

[Sulamith]

I wonder why at least one family member did not stay with him. IMO, there is something off about this. Hope I am wrong.

ETA: After looking at some social media I wonder if he just wanted to walk away from his life and start a new one. He is very young. MOO

 

[KatzEye]

FB page set up for search updates :

Search for Kaden Laga

 

[Knox]

Search for Kaden Laga
1 hr ·
An update on the Search for Kaden:

Hounds have been on the mountain since about 4:30 this morning and we just heard word that they picked up Kaden’s scent. What this means for us that it has narrowed our search quite a bit tomorrow when we are out there in the bush because now we know what direction he went. They haven’t been able to pinpoint Kaden yet and we are hopeful that will come later tonight and that we won’t have to have people out there searching miles and miles. [But we are still preparing to search until we hear otherwise] This is great news and the first news we’ve heard at all as far as where Kaden is.
Please continue to keep him in your prayers and thank you guys so much for your support from far off. We are so so grateful for everyone who has done so much to help us.

 

[TatianaBarbie]

His FB page:

Kaden Laga (Last public post was on June 27, 2019)

 

[LadyL]

he is expecting a baby in November ...

 

[Razz]

I am confused. Was this a familiar place where they normally rode horses? Or were they on vacation?
He appears to be from Utah so Montana is unknown to him. Is he familiar with horses? I'm worried that the horse may have become spooked and left him alone. The more questions I ask, the more worried I become.

 

[mickey2942]

Not a lot of spaces have cell coverage out there.

 

[GraceG]

No horse either? Hope there’s helicopters out

After reading other news reports it's not clear whether he was walking the lame horse out or just hiking out on his own. His family does have a FB page up for him with updates. Links in this MSN article. Reports: Montana authorities searching for missing Utah hiker

 

[moonriverfarm]

So he was riding, horse became lame, he planned to walk the horse back to the trail head and disappeared?

 

[Luckyzmom]

I took it that he was walking his horse out. MOO

 

[ms_x_to_the_m]

I am not sure why, but it all sounds weird.
Just not sure if I can put my finger on it.
I hope he is found very soon.

 

[LClapper]

Any clarification as to whether or not he walked the horse out or left the horse with the group?

 

[JerseyGirl]

25-year-old Laga, who lives with his wife in Orem, and his family were separated while horseback riding west of Twin Lakes on Saturday.

One of the horses went lame, and Laga decided to walk. He and his family planned to meet up at the nearest trailhead.

Laga never showed up.

"My husband circled around on the horse trying to find him ... they couldn't find him so they thought maybe he had gotten ahead of them on the trail," his mother said. "By that point it was really dark, so they slept and got up the next day and looked for him."

Hound dogs were able to pick up Laga's scent during a search on Wednesday morning. Five dog teams will conduct new searches on the ground Thursday.

Utah man missing 3 days in Idaho wilderness; search ongoing

 

[Inthedetails]

You'd think a search would be easier when looking for a horse. Where could the horse be that it can't be seen? What's the terrain like?

jmo

 

[SeesSeas]

Search for Kaden Laga

Search for Kaden Laga
2 hrs ·
Gearing up to go search.
---
To clear up any confusion. Kaden was on a horseback trip with members of his family in the Selway Wilderness of Idaho just west of Twin Lakes when he was separated from them with limited supplies and clothing. Authorities were notified when he failed to reach the trailhead on Sunday, August 11.

Kaden is 25, married, and expecting his first child this fall.


Search for Kaden Laga
2 hrs ·
UPDATE 7:30 AM: We'll begin dropping teams in by helicopter today to start canvassing areas by foot since thermal imaging and dogs have so far been unsuccessful. Because of the terrain and expanse of the area, our first priority is to keep people safe. SAR is only allowing vetted and APPROVED volunteers in to search.

We are hopeful that today we will find Kaden. Thank you for your continued prayers, thoughts, donations, and service.

 

[MFH]

Search for Kaden Laga

I think I can answer a little of the horse questions within the TOS because the official page answered someone in the comments of this post.

As to whether Kaden was walking the horse out or not posted by Search for Kaden Laga:
As we understand the horse was left tied to retrieve later that day. The horse was located earlier this week in the initial stages of searching.

 

[JerseyGirl]

A Ravalli County Sheriff said three search dog teams from True North Search Dogs, Ravalli County Search and Rescue ground teams, as well as helicopters from Choice Aviation of Hamilton and the Montana Army National Guard continued the search for Kaden Laga in the Selway Wilderness of Idaho west of Twin Lakes.

Laga separated from his party approximately 16 miles west of Twin Lakes Saturday afternoon. Ravalli County Search and Rescue began searching Monday afternoon when Laga failed to reach the trailhead where his party was waiting. Search efforts have been ongoing since Monday evening.

Search plans for Thursday include ground searches with five dog teams, as well as aerial searches with helicopters. A five person team from Idaho County Search and Rescue will also be flown in to begin searching from the Moose Meadow area.

Incident command will transition to the Idaho County Sheriff’s Office at 8 a.m. Friday morning. Sheriff Holton stated Ravalli County Search and Rescue often handles the initial stages of searches in this part of the Selway Wilderness because the area is more easily accessed from the Montana side. The search area in this operation is strictly in Idaho, necessitating the transfer of incident command to the Idaho County Sheriff’s Office. A Sheriff said the Ravalli County Sheriff’s Office and Search and Rescue will continue to support search efforts as the incident continues.

Search continues for missing hiker - Bitterroot Star