View Full Version : Missing hiker found - RIP
fiddlehead
05-17-2016, 02:55
I assume it's Otter, who's been missing since December I believe:
http://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2016-05-16/hiker-found-dead-in-new-mexico-ending-monthslong-search
Article says he was trying to complete his 3rd CDT thru.
RIP!
slowfeet
05-20-2016, 00:07
RIP Otter
....
He had already done the CDT twice and was on his third attempt. I think it's safe to assume he died doing what he loved! RIP Otter.
Olshansky would have completed the 3,100-mile Continental Divide Trail for the third time had he survived and finished the final stretch of the journey through New Mexico, his brother said.
srvand02
11-29-2016, 18:43
Met him twice out on the CDT that year. Once in Helena, where he and two other hikers helped me with a hitch, and another time right before the Wind River Range. He was a great guy.
bearcreek
12-04-2016, 17:39
This tragedy is a good example of why carrying a SPOT or other PLB could save your life.
saltysack
12-05-2016, 09:38
Any more info out on circumstances?
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Uncle Joe
12-05-2016, 10:29
Sad to hear but yes, he died doing what he loved.
bearcreek
12-05-2016, 22:36
He was trapped by heavy snow, took refuge in a isolated forest service campground, and slowly perished, leaving a diary of the whole thing. Little doubt that a SPOT type device would have saved his life.
rocketsocks
12-05-2016, 23:22
Glad his family and friends will have some closure, gotta be hell not knowing. Rest peacefully "Otter"
See you Otter. Great guy. Met him several times. He was so close to getting out of the most brutal stuff too. !0k in a NM snow storm. NM isn't the warm dry state many picture especially up near Chama Cumbres Pass. I can understand his reasoning why at that stage he prolly thought a PLB wasn't needed as he was so close to being home free. I'd like to read his journal. Anymore details Bearcreek would be appreciated.
FrogLegz
12-21-2016, 08:17
Like others have stated already, at least he was doing what he loved. Rest Easy Otter.
*Get wild! Live free! Be happy!*
There are worse ways to die, Fair winds, clear skies, RIP
Secondmouse
01-17-2017, 19:33
There are worse ways to die, Fair winds, clear skies, RIP
I doubt it. starving or freezing to death would be one of the worst...
ScareBear
01-17-2017, 22:06
Far worse ways to die. Dying of third degree burns over a period of weeks...pancreatic cancer...peritonitis...giglioblastoma...the list is, unfortunately, endless. People voluntarily starve themselves to death every day. Freezing doesn't take long, and once hypothermia sets in, you don't have any pain...just panic. But not the panic you get from drowning. That's another one that is worse, IMHO...drowning...buried alive in an avalanche...far worse ways of dying...
Some years ago, a rural hospital near us gave a patient the wrong injection. He was in the ER for an upset tummy. The nurse grabbed a vial and gave him a shot of what she thought was an anti-nausea drug. It wasn't. It was a paralytic agent for intubation. In other words, the nurse shut off his diaphragm and he suffocated while fully conscious, unable to move or scream...far worse ways to die...just sayin...
I doubt it. starving or freezing to death would be one of the worst...Burning to death is my #1 Freezing isn't so bad, Ive had hypothermia you get warmish and calm at the end, its very peaceful.
Secondmouse
01-18-2017, 12:31
Burning to death is my #1 Freezing isn't so bad, Ive had hypothermia you get warmish and calm at the end, its very peaceful.
so you died???
Secondmouse
01-18-2017, 12:32
Far worse ways to die. Dying of third degree burns over a period of weeks...pancreatic cancer...peritonitis...giglioblastoma...the list is, unfortunately, endless. People voluntarily starve themselves to death every day. Freezing doesn't take long, and once hypothermia sets in, you don't have any pain...just panic. But not the panic you get from drowning. That's another one that is worse, IMHO...drowning...buried alive in an avalanche...far worse ways of dying...
Some years ago, a rural hospital near us gave a patient the wrong injection. He was in the ER for an upset tummy. The nurse grabbed a vial and gave him a shot of what she thought was an anti-nausea drug. It wasn't. It was a paralytic agent for intubation. In other words, the nurse shut off his diaphragm and he suffocated while fully conscious, unable to move or scream...far worse ways to die...just sayin...
yeah, how did I know you'd be along to argue.
just sayin...
Sad to hear but yes, he died doing what he loved.
Um, not so much. Otter died a horrible drawn-out death, after trying suicide at least twice. And all the while, he knew that he had screwed up royally. Very sad.
https://www.outsideonline.com/2336896/snowbound
Snowshoes.
Skis.
PLB.
The Rockies. October. Seems so obvious after the fact.
Wayne
No doubt that Otter was super competent, maybe one of the best. But analyses of such deaths detail not one, but a series of errors and circumstances that lead to the death. He turned in his Spot so he could have more money for hiking food. He was not clear about his route in talking to his friends. He lacked snowshoes or skis, even though storms were somewhat likely. A search was done with aircraft rather than with snowmobiles (one plane flew right over him but didn't see him). The jurisdiction of N Mex and Colo authorities got in the way of an effective search. The search was called off when a bearded man was seen in town, and assumed to be him (it wasn't). Despite all that, he lived for several months under horrible circumstances (mostly just waiting in a concrete privy in below zero conditions). Terrible tragedy. He was definitely not doing what he loved. He didn't want to be there.
Anyway, great article in Outside. Read it.
Very good, very sad read. Maybe....someone's life will be saved because of what Otter went through and shared.
No doubt that Otter was super competent, maybe one of the best. But analyses of such deaths detail not one, but a series of errors and circumstances that lead to the death. He turned in his Spot so he could have more money for hiking food. He was not clear about his route in talking to his friends. He lacked snowshoes or skis, even though storms were somewhat likely. A search was done with aircraft rather than with snowmobiles (one plane flew right over him but didn't see him). The jurisdiction of N Mex and Colo authorities got in the way of an effective search. The search was called off when a bearded man was seen in town, and assumed to be him (it wasn't). Despite all that, he lived for several months under horrible circumstances (mostly just waiting in a concrete privy in below zero conditions). Terrible tragedy. He was definitely not doing what he loved. He didn't want to be there.
Anyway, great article in Outside. Read it.
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I might add that a similar thing happened to an older lady who got turned around on the AT in Maine. She just got lost and died. Otter wasn't lost, but he was trapped. Same outcome.
I take some interest in this just because I've come close a few times. Do enough stuff for enough years and you'll know what I mean...
Alligator
08-21-2018, 15:28
I think one commonality between Otter and Geraldine's cases is that misidentification altered the search patterns. There was another female hiker misidentified as Geraldine and that made it seem that Geraldine was higher upslope. Projections of her possible position were too far ahead. In Otter's case, misidentification lessened the search effort.
I have watched his Youtube videos and found them interesting and helpful. I am sorry to learn of this and learned of it after the fact but just now writing this post. I have hiked through that campground. Will do so again on my 2023 CDT hike. I'll stop and pay my respects although it is not his place of burial. I respect those who go out before me, risking, living going and living the dream.
LazyLightning
06-06-2022, 16:18
Wow what a sad but incredible story on surviving. This is now at the very top of my list as the worst way to go, I can't think of anything worse. To be out there from Nov-Feb, surviving on nothing but horse oats for weeks, maybe months. All alone, knowing it's over and dwelling on your mistake, even seeing the rescue plane fly over. Sure there are more painful ways to die but usually over fairly quick, even from cancer your in a hospital surrounded by family/friends with pain killers and stuff. I almost had to stop reading when he was talking about the 2nd time he tried suicide. I just read this yesterday and couldn't stop thinking about it since.
RIP
That's a sad thing to hear, and my condolences to everyone who knew him. Life can be fragile and lost so easily. There is much to be learned from his story.
Very difficult to read and watch the last videos.
It's a horrible, terrible way to go. RIP