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There are new efforts tonight to find a hiker who's been missing since Wednesday.
Jay Adamson's family says Jay is an avid hiker who often likes to hike alone in an area west of the Great Salt Lake.
He left his Draper home around 6 a.m. Wednesday. His wife got worried when he didn't return that day, and by yesterday afternoon, his family began to mount a search.
They found his vehicle last night just off of I-80, exit 62 in some rugged, steep terrain near the Lakeside Mountains, but there's no sign of the man.
Tonight, a helicopter with an infrared camera is doing sweeps over the Lakeside Mountains, but the rocks are so hot, it may be impossible to distinguish between them and Adamson.
The helicopter crew is hoping he'll turn on a flashlight or flip open his cell phone.
Frank Park, with the Tooele County Sheriff's Office, says, "Well, it's in the mountains. It's in the desert, so it's very sharp rock, a lot of cliffs, a lot of crevices, ravines. It's very difficult, very dangerous for searchers."
Of great concern is the fact that Jay Adamson is a diabetic who needs to carry insulin with him on outings like this. Kip Egan, Jay's brother-in-law, said, "He's really experienced out here, but you just never know what combination of falls or diabetic situations that he got into. If he got insulin low and started getting disoriented or whatever; there's all kinds of combinations. But he's definitely experienced, a lot more than most of us here for sure."
Park says, "Diabetic is a big concern for somebody in the desert. He does have his insulin kit with him. But as time goes on, with a diabetic, if he's injured that's a big concern. The family has had no contact by his cell phone or anything else since he left. The last contact was a couple of days ago, early in the morning."
Adamson, a husband and father of 6, is just over 6 feet tall, weighs approximately 160 pounds and has dark blond hair.
Much of the area is volcanic rock, so there aren't many trails, which makes the searching even more difficult.
Don Adamson, Jay's father, says, "There is not very many trails because it goes right up the hill, and it's part of the volcanic, and it's very sharp and jagged, and you need boots and gloves because it's very sharp."
At least 100 people searched for Adamson today. We watched more cars arrive tonight --volunteers on horseback, ATV, motorcycles and foot.
Volunteer David Lassig said, "A lot of people are really concerned about Jay. We love him and his family a lot."
The search will resume tomorrow at 6 a.m., and hopefully we can report some good news tomorrow night.
E-mail: jdaley@ksl.com
E-mail: gkennedy@ksl.com
