Sep 5, 2006 8:21 am US/Mountain
Marines, Family Keep Search Going For Missing Man
BOULDER, Colo. (AP/CBS4) ―
Friends and family of a 21-year-old Marine missing since he injured his head while hiking said they will keep looking for him despite the end of an official search. Marine veterans, active duty service members and friends searched all day Monday and planned to return to the foothills southwest of Boulder again Tuesday morning.
The Boulder County sheriff's department called off the search for Lance Hering Sunday, the fifth day of an intense effort by volunteers and rescue teams in Eldorado Canyon west of Boulder.
"We feel we have given the effort everything we could," sheriff's Cmdr. Phil West said. "We're confident Lance is not in the area."
West said a nationwide missing person bulletin would be distributed after Hering's photo is scanned.
Hering was last seen Aug. 29, when he was hiking with friend Steve Powers. Powers told authorities that Hering fell and suffered a head injury that caused him to lose consciousness.
Powers went for help, but his friend was not there when Powers returned with rescuers. All they found was shoes, a water bottle and blood.
Authorities were considering the possibility that Hering, who returned a month ago from Iraq, reverted to a military mind-set and went for cover.
His family is concerned that Hering is disoriented and wandering. His father, Lloyd Hering, said his son suffered a memory lapse after a head injury when he was 11.
"I want to call for the people of Colorado to keep looking for this kid, because I honestly believe there's a good chance he's out there," the elder Hering said.
Hering is due back at Camp Pendleton in California in a couple weeks. Investigators said they don't believe he intentionally disappeared to avoid returning to Iraq.
The volunteer search teams planned to return to the area and meet at NCAR in Boulder at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.
(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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