UT UT - Melvin Heaps, 75, hiker, Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, 31 July 2017

[JerseyGirl]

Melvin Heaps planned to spend Monday hiking in the High Uintas near Crystal Lake. He typically goes hiking when he visits family in the Salt Lake Valley, but usually returns by nightfall.

Some hikers reported seeing him Monday, and his car was found at the Crystal Lake Trailhead.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865685925/Search-continues-for-missing-hiker-74-in-Uintas.html
http://www.parkrecord.com/news/summit-county/search-underway-for-missing-arizona-hiker/

 

[JerseyGirl]

Search resumes for hiker missing near Crystal Lake

https://www.ksl.com/?sid=45259650&nid=148

 

[caribou_birdie]

This is so sad. So many folks missing recently in National parks. With the heat as it is, I can see how easy it is to have a minor incident that becomes life threatening in no time. Prayers for his safety and return to his family.

 

[LisaWL7TR]

The family of a man who disappeared in the Uinta Mountains spoke in a press conference Thursday, and they are asking for volunteers to aid in the search.

Volunteers should meet at the Crystal Lake Trailhead Friday beginning at 7 a.m. Those who come to volunteer should be physically fit and have the proper gear to search in the mountainous terrain, like hiking boots, suitable clothing, and water.

http://fox13now.com/2017/08/03/fami...volunteers-to-join-search-efforts-friday/amp/

For more info-
http://www.findgarrett.org/missing/melvin-heaps

 

[JerseyGirl]

Family members say he is deaf in one ear and wears a hearing aid on his other ear. If the battery has drained, family fears, he may not be able to easily hear helicopters overhead or searchers shouting for him.

http://www.sltrib.com/news/2017/08/...s-as-search-for-missing-uintas-hiker-resumes/

 

[Gardener1850]

[h=1]Officials ‘scaling down’ search for hiker missing in Uinta Mountains[/h]

SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah — After six days of search efforts, Summit County Search and Rescue announced Sunday they will be scaling down their search efforts for a missing hiker.

The press release from the Summit County Sheriff’s Office said that as of 6 p.m. Sunday they have begun scaling down their search efforts. The release states that searchers have worked diligently and exhausted many resources in the hopes of finding Heaps.

The search will continue, but with limited resources.

http://fox13now.com/2017/08/06/officials-scaling-down-search-for-hiker-missing-in-uinta-mountains/

 

[doodles1211]

He is in NAMUS..

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/39406/4?current_page=circumstances

 

[micronations]

something about people volunteering for trails that people go missing from makes me nervous. people who want to find him may disregard their own safety. :/

 

[PommyMommy]

AUG 7, 2017
Search for missing Uintas hiker scaled back
Summit County personnel were on the trail system again Sunday, but with nightfall Martinez announced further efforts would have to be scaled back.

NOV 6, 2017
Searching for Melvin Heaps
The Summit County Sheriff's Office tweeted a screenshot showing their GPS tracks.

JAN 9, 2018
Melvin Heaps
Melvin Heaps

• Missing Since: 7/31/2017
• Age: 74 when he went missing
• DOB: 1/12/1943
• Height: 5'9"
• Weight: 175 - 185 lbs.
• Hair: Gray or partially gray - Salt and Pepper Brown/Black
• Eyes: Blue
• Identifying Features: Scar and indentation behind left ear due to surgical procedure. Deaf in left ear. Wears hearing aid in right ear.

Summit County Sheriff Lt. Alan Siddoway (435) 615-3610

Mr. Heaps went hiking in the Crystal Lake area of the Wasatch National Forest, Summit County, Utah. He did not return home as planned and his vehicle was located at the trailhead. Hw was last known wearing Long sleeve red/rust with beige stripes, size 15.5-16/32 possibly Van Heusen bran; Blue trousers, size 38/30 zippered fly possibly Faded Glory or Wrangler brand; Elastic, clip on suspenders; LDS one-piece undergarments. Brown hiking boots Size 9.5-10; Thick multi-colored socks and an unknown brand analog watch with a leather band. Gun metal gray wire-framed prescription eyeglass that auto tint with clip-on flip up sunglasses and White handkerchief; Hearing aid in right ear; Brown leather wallet and contents; Chapstick; Toyota key and fob.

 

[PommyMommy]

JUL 21, 2018
Search for missing man in Uinta Mountains continues
The same team also searched for 74-year old Melvin Heaps in the same area just last year. He, too, is still missing.

JUL 21, 2018
https://kslnewsradio.com/1769975/searchers-make-urgent-plea-help-finding-missing-hiker/

Missing persons posters for hikers Ray Humpherys and Melvin Heaps are posted side-by-side at the Bald Mountain Trailhead on July 21, 2018. (Photo: Dave Cawley, KSL)

 

[PommyMommy]

Two years and Melvin is still missing.

I hope there are still people searching for him and we just haven't heard about it. MOO

 

[PommyMommy]

JAN 25, 2020
Summit County’s Search and Rescue volunteers sacrifice to find those who are lost or hurt in the wilderness
[...]

Siddoway said that, while in most every case, SAR is searching for a person the team members haven’t met, they come to know that person very well in their mind.

He said he often develops close relationships with family members of missing people.

[...]

“When you have to look at a family and say tomorrow at dark all of this equipment is going to go away — you feel it. You feel it. And they feel it too,” Siddoway said. “It’s a decision we do not take lightly. We’re going to go from 50 persons to three persons there in a couple weeks. … It is probably one of the toughest decisions that we have to make in a search-and-rescue situation, just because of all of the factors, the emotion that’s tied up in it. We become very vested in these calls.”

Those instances, though, are rare. Since 2003, the team has failed to find only three people: Garrett Bardsley, Melvin Heaps and Crumrine.

[...]

“Tough to leave the scene knowing there was no closure,” Todd said. “Melvin Heaps, Carl Crumrine — not too many days I don’t think about them.”

Siddoway said those searches are not over.

“In my office, in Kamas, there are binders now in the bookshelf there for Garrett Bardsley and for Melvin Heaps. And those binders will be there basically until I leave,” Siddoway said. “I can honestly tell you as I talk with SAR members — and Bardsley obviously being 15 years removed, some of our older members were personally involved in that — they’ll still come up in conversation. Melvin, two years ago, often comes up in conversation: ‘You know — have we considered this?’”

[...]

 

[PommyMommy]

Melvin Heaps | DPS – Criminal Identification (BCI) (utah.gov)

Melvin Heaps
Missing PersonCold Case Tip Hotline: 833-DPS-SAFE (833-377-7233)

• Missing Since:7/31/2017
• DOB:1/12/1943
• Height:5'9"
• Weight:175lbs
• Case #:17-L19297

Mr. Heaps went hiking in the Crystal Lake area of the Wasatch National Forest, Summit County, Utah. He did not return home as planned and his vehicle was located at the trail head. He was last known wearing Long sleeve red/rust with beige stripes, size 15.5-16/32 possibly Van Heusen bran; Blue trousers, size 38/30 zippered fly possibly Faded Glory or Wrangler brand; Elastic, clip on suspenders; LDS one-piece undergarments. Brown hiking boots Size 9.5-10; Thick multi-colored socks and an unknown brand analog watch with a leather band. Gun metal gray wire-framed prescription eyeglass that auto tint with clip-on flip up sunglasses and White handkerchief; Hearing aid in right ear; Brown leather wallet and contents; Chapstick; Toyota key and fob.

Summit County Sheriff Lt. Alan Siddoway (435) 615-3610

 

[Luckyzmom]

TY @PommyMommy . Was thinking about him the other day, very sad case

 

[Pennysmom1]

Summit County’s Search and Rescue volunteers sacrifice to find those who are lost or hurt in the wilderness

Kevan Todd found himself in a whiteout blizzard up Chalk Creek near Coalville leading a team on snowmobiles trying to find a lost person. The visibility became so bad

www.parkrecord.com

 

[Pennysmom1]

Melvin is mentioned in this article

updated Feb 14, 2023

Second Day Of Search For Missing Man In Uintas Turns Up No Leads

Search and rescue teams found no leads in their second day of looking for 66-year-old Charles "Ray" Humphreys.

ksltv.com

<<Lt. Wright said Humpherys’ disappearance was the eighth search and rescue call-out for their teams since Friday. He emphasized the importance of proper preparation.

“Make sure you’re prepared with the proper equipment. Have a GPS handy. Make sure you that you have the ability to filter water,” he said. “Even though it’s the summer, it can be a little deceiving when you leave the Salt Lake Valley (with) 100°. You can come up here. It’s the low 70°s, and it can drop down near freezing temperatures.”

Another man, Melvin Heaps, went missing in the same area in July 2017. Heaps has never been found.>>