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COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — Searchers on foot and by air scoured canyons in Salt Lake County Saturday looking for a Saratoga Springs man who was last heard from Thursday morning.
The search by the Salt Lake County sheriff's search and rescue team, with the assistance of a Utah Department of Public Safety helicopter, was hampered by bad weather.
The team of 25 trained volunteers is expected to resume its efforts Sunday "and hopefully once again the DPS helicopter," said Ken Hansen, public information officer for Unified police.
"Our concern is that we have an experienced hiker. The weather’s been warm enough that he could survive. We’re worried he may be hurt somewhere and can’t notify (anyone). His cellphone is dead. Time is really critical, especially if it gets colder tonight or tomorrow morning. So we’re doing everything we can to try to locate this individual in this area," Hansen said Saturday evening.
A vehicle belonging to the missing man, Benjamin Kritzer, 28, was located Saturday at the trailhead of Ferguson Canyon, between Big and Little Cottonwood canyons in Salt Lake County. Kritzer regularly takes day hikes in the canyons, according to Hansen.
"He’s from North Carolina. He hasn’t been up here a long time. Unfortunately he hikes alone. Unfortunately, apparently, his cellphone ran out of power rather quickly. We hope that he has the survival skills if he’s hurt or lost, or whatever," Hansen said.
Kritzer's family in North Carolina last heard from him on Thursday, when they received a message that said he was "heading up the mountain."
"He sent a pic of a flower and that was the last we heard," his younger brother Zach Kritzer, 26, said.
He said his brother moved to Salt Lake City in the fall of 2015 to be closer to the Rocky Mountains because of his love of hiking and being outdoors. He described his brother as an "independent and solitary type" and said the family wasn't aware of any close friends in Utah.
"He goes (hiking) every chance he gets in the spring and summer, probably at least once a week," Zach Kritzer said, adding that the Cottonwoods area is his brother's favorite. "He always goes alone and he always lets us know that he's going and when he gets back."
"He doesn't always tell us where, unfortunately," he said.
Kritzer had told his family he'd be back that night, but when he didn't text his family Thursday night, they were worried. When he didn't show up to an Orem automotive shop for work on Saturday, the family got in the car and began the long drive to Utah to help with the search.
"We're just hoping that maybe he got lost on the hike," Zach Kritzer said, adding that he knows little about the area, other than what officers assisting with the search have told him.
The 3.5-mile trail through Ferguson Canyon is well-traveled in the summer and can be slick in the spring, though the family was told there aren't too many steep places where Kritzer could have fallen. It climbs 1,600 feet in elevation to a meadow overlook, following a creek bed that is sometimes bordered by granite walls that are popular for rock climbing.
Kritzer is 5 feet, 4 inches tall, weighs 135 pounds and has blue eyes and short black hair. Kritzer also has some facial hair. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Saratoga Springs police at 801-794-3970.
"I would encourage everybody that has a lot of hiking experience and tracking experience to help with the search effort," Zach Kritzer said. "Anybody who knows that area, knows the risks and knows those trails out there would be a great help."
The family is optimistic he will be found alive.
"I've heard that at the top, it's difficult to find the trail, that it's not clear where it goes," Zach Kritzer said. "Maybe he's still up there."
Contributing: Alex Cabrero
