Hiker found alive after 3 nights in snowy backcountry

BUENA VISTA, Colo. — A hiker who went missing in Colorado’s Collegiate Peaks is alive and well after surviving a snowstorm and spending three nights in the backcountry.

Chaffee County Sheriff John Spezze says 36-year-old Sheui Kato of Silverthorne was found Tuesday after a helicopter spotted his campfire in a drainage about five miles below the summit of Mount Missouri. He said Kato didn’t have any medical problems but he didn’t have any details about the ordeal.

Kato set out to climb the 14,000-plus foot mountain, or fourteener, in mild weather Saturday and planned to return home that night. His wife reported him missing early Sunday and an extensive search, including three helicopters and 45 people on the ground, was conducted before over a foot of snow fell Monday.