Mission Reports: Abandoned 4Runner

Saturday October 9th, a team from Colorado 4×4 Rescue and Recovery spent the day outside of Bailey recovering an abandoned Toyota 4Runner.

If this vehicle looks familiar to you, you would be correct. This is the vehicle that a missing teenager was driving earlier this summer. This story ended up getting a lot of attention on social media while the family was working on locating him, and ultimately he was found and returned home safely!

A couple months ago, some hikers found the vehicle and reported it to local authorities. The vehicle was checked and confirmed to belong to the family in question. That is when the recovery planning began as coordination with county officials, the USFS, and the family all had to happen.

This un-named and extremely low traveled road leads to some private property. The vehicle had got hung up on a rock after bypassing a private land gate, and was unable to drive any further without recovery assistance. The team made their way down this road dealing with very tight conditions due to the overgrowth, multiple downed trees, and general disrepair from this very old access road.

Once on scene, the recovery itself went relatively fast. The vehicle was inspected for animal damage (which there was some found in the engine bay) and test-started. While it would run, it would not run very well. Still, a good sign that it could be driven out vs dead towed out. The team utilized a hi-lift jack to get the front end up enough to lift the smashed running board off the rock, and 2 winches were used to pull the vehicle both backwards and uphill away from this rock. Once back on the old road, the 4runner was able to be driven out under its own power even though there was a bit of engine trouble keeping it running smoothly.

The team egressed back up the hill with the recovered vehicle in line, and was left where a tow truck later picked this up to take back into town for the family. We were happy to provide assistance in recovering the vehicle for the family! A crucial step to bringing this whole ordeal finally to a close, and we are extremely grateful for the happy outcome over this entire missing persons case.

Colorado 4×4 Rescue and Recovery

We Recover the Rockies!!