HikeArizona.COM

The following article is about a man missing since November 22, 2009 whose camp was found December 20, 2009 near the old Tortilla Ranch. Has he perhaps asked questions on HAZ prior to his trip and/or have any of you while hiking the Superstitions met a man that meets his description? The Maricopa County Shriff's office is in charge of the search if you have info.

Colo. man missing in search for Lost Dutchman gold mine

1 comment Jan. 17, 2010 02:15 PM
Associated Press

PHOENIX - Arizona
authorities are searching for a Colorado man whose mother says disappeared while searching for the storied Lost Dutchman gold mine.

The Marcicopa County Sheriff's Office has been organizing searches for 35-year-old Jesse Capen since hikers discovered his Jeep near Old Tortilla Ranch on Dec. 20 but have found no trace of him in the desert near the Superstition Mountains east of Phoenix.

"It's a pretty desolate area. It looks like you stepped on the moon," said Don Roughan, a sheriff's deputy.

The hikers who found Capen's Jeep said his wallet, backpack, cellphone, food and sleeping bag were also in a tent nearby. About 100 people, dogs and helicopters searched for Capen on Saturday and have covered a 10-mile radius near his tent.

Capen's mother, Cynthia Burnett, said her son was obsessed with the Lost Dutchman mine and had more than 100 books and maps about it. He arrived in Apache Junction, east of Phoenix, on Nov. 22 to begin looking for the mine, Burnett said.

"This is beyond obsessed," she said.

Burnett said she fears her son may have been bitten by a rattlesnake or injured in a fall and then attacked by a bear. She described her son as a "gentle giant" - about 6-foot-4 and more than 200 pounds - who went into the desert unarmed in search of the gold mine, which has been the subject of movies.

She said her son planned to return to Denver by Christmas.

Capen had been working as a bellhop at a hotel in downtown Denver for the past 11 years.

The following recent photograph from HAZ asks the question about the latest status on the search for Jesse.

http://www.hikearizona.com/photo.php?ZIP=182197

If your interested in searching for this man SSAR may be willing to have you join them in their search efforts.
Give them a call or attend one of their monthly meetings for more information.
:thanx:

Not sure how credible this is, but I found this today ... I guy who thinks he found evidence of Jesse and is offering part of a $10,000 reward...he posted 5 blog articles here: http://alaskaexpert.blogspot.com/search ... -results=5

Wally & Denny found a trip register on top of Tortilla Peak 4918 that he signed on Dec. 4, 12 days after he arrived in the Supes and 16 days prior to his stuff being found (vehicle, tent, wallet, cellphone, etc.) on Dec. 20. http://hikearizona.com/photo.php?ZIP=214503

azdesertfather wrote:Not sure how credible this is, but I found this today ...

Based on his obsession with grudges, I'd be skeptical. Perhaps you didn't read the specifics of his offer. It's only good if the people he's insulting come up with the other $9,000.

Thanks Dave for posting the link to the man from Alaska and yes we know him and have had contact with him.

I did not share with him or Maricopa County SAR the following info because I did not want to embarrass him regarding his so called evidence pictured on his blog site. On my first trip searching for Jesse I had along with me two of my Grandsons and they found the bone at the precise location where he said it was. It was very very old, sun rotted, splintered and obviously not from Jesse. We left it lay where we found it which is proper SAR procedure.

Down the trail towards the trail head we also found the waist band he mentions hanging in a bush about three to four feet above the trail on the uphill side of the trail. The high water during or after Jesse's being reported missing at that point only reached about two feet below the trail thread. The waist band was very very old and the cloth that had been attached to it obviously had rotted away long before we found it. I left it hanging there knowing that all the Sheriff's deputies and SAR searchers that had already used the trail had seen it. LIKE THE BONE YOU COULD NOT MISS IT!

My two grandsons can verify all of the above and searchers of the SSAR team that were with us can as well. The removal of the waist band and bone by our friend from Alaska tells you what he knows about SAR and the proper handling of potential evidence. Had the bone been more recent and human his DNA would now be on the bone making him a suspect in this case!

As most of you know there is a lot of human trash and animal bones in a high use wilderness area such as the superstitions. SAR teams and law enforcement folks have to evaluate all potential evidence they find and have knowledge on how to record and handle such evidence. Therefore if you find what may be evidence of a missing person do not pick it up with your hands and remove it. Photograph it and record its location with your GPS so law enforcement can properly deal with it.

The remains of those missing such as Jesse and GPSjoe will most likely be found by a hiker, backpacker or hunter traveling off trail and It is our hope they are found for the sake of bringing closure for the families.

Regarding that blog: It's very difficult to take grandstanders seriously, when there are facts mixed liberally with just plain fecus equus.

azbackpackr wrote:Regarding that blog: It's very difficult to take grandstanders seriously, when there are facts mixed liberally with just plain fecus equus.

Well, I was trying to be nice to Mr. Alaska and wasn't going to present it exactly that way but I will admit you did describe the situation as the south end of a horse that was traveling north. ;)

azbackpackr wrote: when there are facts mixed liberally with just plain fecus equus.

The rant about bears in the Superstitions was a pretty good example of that.

And about the snakes. I see snakes all the time. So what?

Anyway, all of this distracts from finding the lost guy's remains. That is the important point here. His family wants to know what happened to him.

big_load wrote:

azdesertfather wrote:Not sure how credible this is, but I found this today ...

Based on his obsession with grudges, I'd be skeptical. Perhaps you didn't read the specifics of his offer. It's only good if the people he's insulting come up with the other $9,000.

yeah, I did notice that!

Are there any areas that have not been thoroughly searched? What has been fully searched?

azdesertfather wrote:Are there any areas that have not been thoroughly searched? What has been fully searched?

That's the problem, SAR is keeping this one close to their chest and not revealing a great deal of information. My understanding is: not that much, with the concentration being between to top of the hill above Kane spring towards the tortilla TH, with portions off trail searched in indian springs canyon, towards Tortilla Peak, Tortilla Peak, upper Fish Canyon, JF trail, Miller mines, and the Tortilla canyon section south from somewhere somewhat close to the TH to somewhere close to the tourist trap.

I think Mr. Alaska needs to find a real job, cause his... hiking trips are just that, hiking trips. I admit, I have no idea what I'm looking for when searching for a missing person in the wilderness, but I do have experience in tracking animals. I'm pretty sure that I know the difference between an old bone and a new bone, or a piece of clothing that has been left out in the weather for a long period of time. I have seen plenty of pairs of underwear left behind from some unfortunate accident. I have a feeling that this guy has no idea what he's doing. But, everybody has the right to say what they feel is right. And just to continue the rant about bears in the Supes, they are there. I have seen track, and heard from creditable word, they have been seen.

Bears are in the Supes, it would be unusual but not impossible to see them so close to Tortilla ranch. Eastern Supes have far more bears, I would think.

From Facebook two hours ago:

After two and a half years we finally found Jesse Capen who has been lost in the Superstition Mountain for that amount of time. Our Prayers are and have been for Jesse and His Family. Countless man hours of gathering clues and searching has paid off. Good job Superstition Search and Rescue. Starting tomorrow the team will go back into the field and resume searching for GPS Joe who has been missing for over a year. This is the fifth cold case this team closed

Better info from the Commander of SSAR:

SSAR located the remains of a man today just 1/2 mile West of Jesse Capens tent and above the helo wreckage near Jim Hatts old Camp. Jesse was the young dutch hunter from Colorado that went missing almost 3 years ago. This was a combined effort of all SSAR volunteers, 2 dutch hunters, 2 mountain men, our helo pilot and the many good hearted hikers that never gave up..... Thanks to all and God Bless!
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So we probably can assume it is Jesse but we will have to wait for confirmation....

That's good news, at least from the standpoint of closure for the family. And good work, all the volunteers!

Half a mile from his tent. Wow. I'm so glad that he has been found. Finally closure for family and friends.

I look forward to reading more details when they become available. I originally planned to have another look in Trap Canyon on this trip, but I bailed out. I'm glad he's been found.

big_load wrote:I look forward to reading more details when they become available.

Ask Columbo-Frack aka WallySupes that guy knows everything about the Supes.

This week the Maricopa County will be doing their investigation and recovery of who was found.

Please do not speculate or start rumors about this incident.

In time the facts will come out and we just need to standby and be respectful.

:thanx: