PARK CITY, Utah — A large scale search for a missing West Virginia man in a remote part of Utah continues. However, after three nights missing and no traces found, rescue teams are growing increasingly concerned about the fate of Carl Crumrine, 69, of Buckhannon, W.Va.
“When you go that long out in the wilderness without the adequate supplies and gear, it becomes worrisome about the survival ability of someone having to go that long,” said Lt. Andrew Wright of the Summit County, Utah Sheriff’s Department.
Crumrine was equipped with some survival gear when he left his camp at 5:30 Monday morning headed out for a day of hunting in the vast Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest along the Wyoming border. He had cold-weather gear, some food and water, and material to start a fire. However, it’s a vast area with a lot of ground to cover. So far, it’s been a fruitless search.
“We’re talking hundreds of square miles, but the area where we’re searching we’re trying to concentrate on the area where their camp is located. I know our search crews try to concentrate about a couple dozen square miles from the area where he was last seen,” said Wright.
Still, there has been no trace of Crumrine at all. Wright said usually in a search like this they’ll discover a piece of equipment or a food wrapper which keeps them on the trail of the missing person, but in this search, none of that has happened.
Additional search crews and equipment from other parts of Utah and other agencies were headed to the area to join the search as of Thursday. Wright added the area is thick with brush and tangled trees. The terrain and the flora would make it tough to see a person even if crews were in close proximity.