The weird disappearance of hunter Alvie Webb in the San Juan National Forest

ColoradoHunting disappearancesSan Juan National ForestAlvie Webb

Aug 8

Alvie Webb, disappeared October 19, 2019, San Juan National Forest, Colorado

Revised April 2024

Alvie Webb, 86, of Muldrow, Oklahoma, was on an elk hunting trip in the Colorado wilderness in the Divide Road-Roaring Fork area of the San Juan National Forest on the morning of October 19, 2019.

Alvie, a former principal and teacher, was with his son, grandson, and others. They had camped near Road 564A. They had been elk hunting in that location for the previous five years and knew the area well.

On October 19, the family took Alvie 100 yards down a trail, and he was left alone to hunt in a location close to the camp, near a meadow where he had hunted the previous year. They told him, “Now we'll pick you up at the bottom of the hill, on the road around 10 o'clock.”

The unnamed trail meets the Roaring Fork Road (Forest Road 435) after about 2 miles. The area is rugged and mountainous, west of the Colorado Trail, 4 miles south of Rico.

The search for Alvie Webb

When the hunting party members checked on Alvie several hours later, they could not find him. There was no sign whatsoever of him or his belongings. The hunters searched the area where he was meant to be but came up with nothing. At 4 pm, they contacted the authorities to report him missing. A larger search mission was started at around 5 pm.

Alvie was wearing an orange stocking cap and orange hunter vest over a heavy camouflaged jacket. He had a few food bars and water, but no overnight gear.

Montezuma County Sheriff Steve Nowlin said the county search and rescue team, deputies and a K-9 Search and Rescue Team, and friends and family of Webb conducted an on-the-ground search of the area, but nothing was found.

Sheriff Nowlin said, “We looked all over and searched a large area 30 yards at a time, but there was no sign of him, no clues. We had people 30 feet apart and that's mostly aspen meadows in that area. We cross-covered areas we had already been over. We should have found him, but there was no sign of him anywhere. It's frustrating. Nobody's finding anything.”

A Colorado National Guard Blackhawk helicopter, Flight for Life helicopter and Mesa Verde Civil Air Patrol plane also searched the heavily wooded area from the air. The search included Montezuma County Search and Rescue, Montezuma County Sheriff deputies and K-9 Search and Rescue. Drones went up at night with infrared, but no heat signatures could be detected.

Alvie had a cellphone, but it was turned off, or the battery ran down on Friday, October 18. The authorities attempted to pick up a signal but with no luck.

On Monday, 25 searchers were searching the area in a grid pattern and at about 9 or 9.30 am, someone said they thought they heard a muffled gunshot, but there were signs of animals (being killed).

The official search was called off, but family and friends continued to search the area for some time after but with no result.

Alvie has some trouble walking, given his age, and was not expected to hike a long distance, so the authorities were puzzled as to why he could not be located after an intense search in the vicinity of the trail. Friends and family members said he did not have any disabilities and that he was very mentally alert.

Sheriff Nowlin said he didn't think Webb would have walked very far. The altitude at that location is about 9,500 feet, and he said Webb had only been there a couple of days before going off hunting and had not had time to acclimate to the thinner air. He said there had also been a dusting of snow in that area Sunday morning. A strong winter storm moved into Colorado after Alvie’s disappearance resulting in a large temperature swing, dropping temperatures to the 20°F level or lower (-6.7°C).

Alvie Webb’s story has striking similarities to other hunters who have mysteriously vanished in the wilderness. Did he fall down a cliff or wander off somewhere into the wilderness despite his age and difficulty walking? Was he accidentally shot by other hunters and taken off the scene? Did something stranger happen?

At the time of writing this story, there is still no sign of Alvie Webb in the Colorado wilderness.

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