Smaller, scaled-back search to continue Wednesday for missing hiker in Boise foothills

BOISE, Idaho (CBS 2) — Treacherous weather forced crews to temporarily suspend the search for a missing 27-year-old Boise man Tuesday night.

The search will continue Wednesday morning, but this time with only a small number of highly skilled searchers who are equipped to brave the cold.

According to the Ada County Sheriff's Office, the man went missing Saturday after telling people he was going hiking near the Dry Creek Trailhead on Bogus Basin Road.

"We were called on Monday, which makes it very difficult," said Aaron Burdin, public information director for Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue. "We have a lot of ground to cover."

Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue has been asked by the Sheriff's Office to help lead the search for the missing hiker.

A team of more than 20 volunteer searchers have scanned the mountainside over the past two days. One team of three volunteers even searched through the night, into Tuesday morning, covering more than 17 miles of trail over 11 hours.

The searchers are trained to look for clues along the way, like footprints, but by now much of that evidence has been erased by snowfall.

While time is of the essence in the search, crews said they had no choice but to postpone their efforts Tuesday night because of an oncoming storm.

"At some point the conditions just get way too dangerous," said Aaron. "It's not worth risking other people's lives."

Once conditions are deemed safe, the team plans to continue their search efforts in full.

For now, a small group will head out first thing Wednesday morning for a more focused search.

Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue crews said they have covered a lot of ground, including the main trailhead and several side trails, but have one more region left to search through.

That's where the small group of searchers will head Wednesday morning.

Volunteers with Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue said it would be extremely unsafe to ask for the community's help in this kind of search, but that people could help tremendously by making a donation to the organization.