Missing Hiker Found Alive and Rescued from Colorado’s Pikes Peak
Michael Ransom, age 26, made a call to his family around 10 PM on Monday night from high up on Pikes Peak. He was alone in his tent high up on the Front Range and told his sister he was starting to suffer the effects of high altitude sickness.
His plan was to hike back to the Cog Train area and let them give him a ride back down to safety. Sadly, his plan never really came together.
Pikes Peak Colorado Cog Train Tries to Contact Missing Hiker
Michael told his sister Hailey of his plans to catch the Cog train on Tuesday afternoon. He apparently had an appointment or had purchased a ticket as the Colorado Cog Train operators had to cancel his train due to poor weather. They had Michael Ransom's cell phone number and tried several times to reach him to notify him of the canceled train. His phone would not answer and train conductors assumed the battery on his phone must have died up on the mountain.
The Call to El Paso County Colorado Search and Rescue
KRDO reports that El Paso County Search and Rescue were first notified about Michael's circumstances on Tuesday afternoon. Poor weather left them unable to get a plane in the air to help locate Michael who was still feeling the effects of the altitude for a second day. By 3:30, Search and Rescue started to assemble a ground team to go up and look for Michael the following morning.
Colorado Search and Rescue Teams Discovered Michael's Location on Wednesday
The ground team headed up the mountain to the Barr Camp area on the Mountain. Barr Camp sits at over 10,000 feet in elevation. Ransom was not from the area and may not have been used to the elevation. Rescue workers began their search near the A-frame which lies just beyond the camp. Hailey Ransom confirmed her brother had been found alive. He was injured but helped back down the mountain to safety by the rescue team early Wednesday afternoon.