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Helicopter crews helped Rocky Mountain National Park officials prepare a “concentrated ground search” for a missing long-distance runner on Thursday, October 5, after wintry weather hindered prior on-the-ground efforts, park officials said.

Chad Pallansch, an “experienced trail runner” from Fort Collins, Colorado, was last heard from on September 27, while nearing the summit of a mountain in the national park, officials said. Pallansch had planned a 28-mile route and was reported “overdue” on September 28, officials said.

Snow, strong wind, and ice impeded rescue crews who were combing the search area, national park officials said on Thursday.

Helicopter crews flew on Thursday for “aerial reconnaissance and to confirm suitable landing zones to insert teams in the field beginning tomorrow,” Rocky Mountain National Park said. Rescue personnel have also used teams of dogs and a “heat sensing fixed-wing flight,” officials said.

This footage of crews flying over the Rocky Mountains was released by the Rocky Mountain National Park on Thursday. Credit: Rocky Mountain National Park via Storyful