Search resumes near Maroon Bells for climber missing since September

Mountain Rescue Aspen volunteers spent Thursday morning doing aerial searches of the area around the Maroon Bells and Pyramid Peak for an Albuquerque climber who went missing last fall, according to a statement.

The effort was the first in a series of aerial searches planned for the area to try to locate David Cook, 49, who was reported missing Sept. 20 after attempting to climb one of the three 14,000-plus-foot peaks.

Mountain Rescue Aspen and the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office searched for Cook on the ground and from the air for eight days in late September but found no sign of him. He was last seen by a U.S. Forest Service employee the morning of Sept. 20 near Maroon Lake.

Officials discovered printed maps inside Cook’s car showing possible routes he might have taken up North Maroon, South Maroon or Pyramid Peak, according to Thursday’s statement.

Thursday’s search turned up no new sightings or information about Cook’s disappearance, though another search is planned for later this month, the statement says.