More detail on this person: Hiking Accident, 8
July 2001 By Danielle Nieves/The Gazette
The body of a missing hiker was found Saturday at
the base of rugged cliffs on Mount Cutler in
Cheyenne Canyon.
Rescuers believe Charles "Tom" Thomas, 56, of
Ann Arbor, Mich., fell to his death Thursday while
attempting to climb Mount Cutler off the
established trail that leads to its 7,200-foot
summit. The peak, at the mouth of the canyon, is
surrounded on three sides by bands of 200-foot
cliffs.
Thomas arrived in Colorado Springs from the Ann
Arbor area, where he was a private contractor, to
attend a niece's wedding Saturday, said Larry
Lewis, mission coordinator from El Paso County
Search and Rescue.
On the day before he was reported missing,
Thomas hiked a short trail from the bottom of
Cheyenne Canyon to Seven Falls, Lewis said.
Thursday morning, he returned to the canyon,
signed his name in a visitor's registry at the
Starsmore Discovery Center at 2120 W. Cheyenne
Road, and picked up a free map of the area
sometime between 10 and 11 a.m., Lewis said.
Family members notified the Sheriff's Office
around midnight Thursday after he failed to
return, Lewis said.
Searchers came up empty on Friday. But Saturday
they received a tip from a woman who said she had
talked to a man fitting Thomas' description
Thursday morning. She said the man asked for
directions to the top of Mount Cutler. "That was a
hot clue that he was not far from here," Lewis
said.
On Saturday morning, an estimated 75 rescuers, a
police helicopter and five search dogs scoured the
area near Mount Cutler.
Rescuers said early Saturday they were optimistic
that Thomas might still be found alive because he
was a former Army helicopter pilot who had
received survival training and was in good
physical condition. They were also hopeful that a
10 mph breeze would help carry Thomas' scent to
search dogs.
Saturday afternoon, the search dogs picked up a
scent that led rescuers to Thomas' body, which lay
in a gully between cliffs at a point where the
tree line meets granite rock. His body was
discovered at approximately 3 p.m.
Rescuers said he appeared to have been trying to
climb Mount Cutler away from established trails.
The area where he was found is marked with scrub
oak and slick marble-size scree, on which footing
is treacherous.
It was unclear Saturday whether Thomas had
reached the top of Mount Cutler via the trail and
fallen while descending or had slipped while
ascending through the band of cliffs where his
body was found, Lewis said.
The popular mile-long Mount Cutler trail rises 600
feet to the top of the mountain, and is considered
a safe, well-traveled trail, Lewis said. But off
the trail, the mountain is dangerous.
"There's fine marble-size granite on top that
makes it pretty slippery up there," Lewis said.
"That can be dangerous if you're not watching your
step."
The search was the first large-scale rescue in El
Paso County this year, Lewis said.
Search and rescue does about 15 rescues per year
in Cheyenne Canyon. Three people have fallen to
their death in the last 10 years, according to Ann
Bellamy, of the Rocky Mountain Nature Association
at the Starsmore Center.
This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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