Nearly 19 years later, personal items found near Mount of the Holy Cross may belong to missing hiker
Michelle Vanek, a 35-year-old mother of four, went missing on Sept. 24, 2005
Vail Daily archive
Read the lastest story regarding the search here.
A mystery on Eagle County’s highest peak may finally be nearing a resolution. Michelle Vanek, a 35-year-old mother of four from the Lakewood area, went missing while on a hike to the Mount of the Holy Cross on Sept. 24, 2005.
On Saturday, a news release issued by the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office announced a recent discovery of personal items in the area by Vail Mountain Rescue Group. Authorities say the items closely resemble those last known to have been with Vanek.
Vanek, a newcomer to the mountains, was hiking the mountain with a friend, Eric Sawyer. The two separated, with Sawyer heading to the summit. Before they separated, Sawyer told Vanek what route she should follow back down. She was never seen again.
Vanek’s disappearance sparked a large-scale search effort. The initial search spanned eight days, rallying volunteers from Vail Mountain Rescue Group and other agencies. Despite the exhaustive initial efforts, no trace of Vanek was found.
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In October 2022, a local man and his son were hiking off-trail in a boulder field when they found a boot. The pair took photos but left the boot where they’d found it. Vail Mountain Rescue Group President Scott Beebe told the Vail Daily that the man contacted a friend, one of the rescue group’s mission coordinators.
Throughout the initial eight-day effort in 2005, the searchers, as many as 800 people over eight days, searched the western side of the boulder field leading up to the peak. The boot found in October 2022 was in a spot that searchers intended to scour on the last day of the search but they were thwarted by about 18 inches of new snow.
After a team failed to find the boot — the discoverer pointed to the wrong spot on a map — a team and the man went up again and found it.
The Eagle County Sheriff’s Office later identified the boot as being identical to the ones Vanek was wearing when she disappeared.
The team did what’s called a “scuff search” in the immediate area, looking for any signs of clothing or the hiking poles Vanek was using. That search came up empty.
Beebe noted that the map notes from the time state that the area was “impossible to search.”
Eagle County Sheriff James van Beek has a search grid map from that search hanging on his office wall, a reminder of a case still unsolved.
The hike to the location of the boot takes the better part of three hours, and that’s with people who are in shape and know the terrain.
Vail Mountain Rescue Group, alongside countless others, never gave up on solving the case. Over the past 19 years, there have been numerous formal and informal searches.
The Sheriff’s Office said the discovery of new clues “is an emotional moment for all of us.”
“For 19 years, Michelle’s family, friends, and this community have held on to hope,” the release states. “Sheriff James Van Beek has a search grid map from that very search hanging on his office wall, placed there by his predecessor as a constant reminder of a case unresolved and a family left incomplete. It has remained there as a symbol of our unwavering commitment to never stop searching for Michelle.”
Authorities are still awaiting forensic confirmation to bring closure to the case.
“We are working closely with our partners and other experts to ensure the investigation is thorough and respectful of the emotional weight carried by Michelle’s family and community,” the Sheriff’s Office release states. “Due to the sensitive nature of the discovery and out of respect for ongoing search efforts, we are not releasing the exact location of the remains at this time. Preserving the area for future searches and respecting Michelle’s memory is our utmost priority. We kindly ask the public and media to respect this decision and allow the investigation to continue unhindered.”
