Shefelbine left early Saturday for a day hike somewhere in the Clarks Fork Canyon area, but never returned, said a news release from Park County Sheriff Scott Steward today. The sheriff's office was notified Monday evening to be on the lookout for Shefelbine in the general area of the Clarks Fork Canyon, but deputies were unable to find him or his vehicle that night, Steward said.
On Tuesday, at 4:45 p.m., the department got more information that narrowed down the search area. Three hours later, sheriff's deputies found Shefelbine's vehicle near Antelope Mountain and search and rescue was summoned to the area around 7:40 p.m.
The search was called off just after 1:30 a.m. Wednesday and resumed at 6:15 a.m. Later on Wednesay, a witness reported having seen Shefelbine Saturday afternoon, and search efforts were focused around that area.
Search and Rescue, the sheriff's office and volunteers searched the area extensively with search dogs, people on the ground and aircraft, but did not find any clues to Shefelbine's whereabouts, Steward said. With inclement, wet weather and slick, steep terrain, the search was called off as darkness approached on Wednesday.
Park County Search and Rescue began searching again at 7 a.m. today (Thursday) and plan to use three dog teams and people on the ground, Steward. Bad weather is expected to prohibit aircraft from searching the area and likely has created too-hazardous conditions to search the remote deep canyon areas on foot, Steward said.
Editor's note: This version corrects Shefelbine's age.