Case closed: Skeletal remains are thought to be hiker missing in Rockies since 1983
Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado — Skeletal remains found in Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park are believed to be those of a 27-year-old man from West Germany who disappeared during a multi-day mountaineering trip nearly 40 years ago, park officials said Thursday.
The remains were found in August 2020 but weren't tentatively declared those of Rudi Moder until Thursday, CBS Denver explains.
Moder, an experienced winter mountaineer who was living in Fort Collins, Colorado, started his excursion over Thunder Pass and into the park on Feb. 13, 1983. His roommate reported him overdue Feb. 19, 1983.
Searchers started looking for Moder the following day, but more than a foot of fresh snow prevented them from immediately finding tracks or other clues.
The only major clues found during the four-day search were a food cache belonging to Moder that was discovered at the mouth of a canyon in the northwest corner of the park, and a nearby snow cave with Moder's sleeping bag and other gear and items inside.
The search included teams on skis and snowshoes, a dog trained to find people in avalanche debris and a helicopter. Additional searches were conducted that spring and into the summer.
In August 2020, a hiker found human remains near avalanche debris in the Skeleton Gulch area.
Park officials say a thorough investigation couldn't be completed at the time because they had to shift priorities to fighting two massive wildfires. Snow then blanketed the area above 11,000 feet.
This summer, park rangers returned to the area and found skis, poles, boots and other personal items believed to have belonged to Moder.
The Grand County coroner's office tried to confirm the identity of the remains through dental records, but the results were inconclusive.
Still, park officials say they consider the case closed and are working with the German government to repatriate the remains. East Germany and West Germany were reunited as of Oct. 3, 1990.
Don Davis, who's now 72, was with Larimer County Search and Rescue at the time and still is. He remembers the search for Moder well.
"Finally -- finally we know where he was!" Davis exclaimed to CBS Denver. ... "He died doing what he liked to do. It feels good to have closure, because this was always a mystery."
