Missing Dutchman Hunter - Jesse Capen

[SuperstitionGuy]

The following article is about a man missing since November 22, 2009 whose camp was found December 20, 2009 near the old Tortilla Ranch. Has he perhaps asked questions on HAZ prior to his trip and/or have any of you while hiking the Superstitions met a man that meets his description? The Maricopa County Shriff's office is in charge of the search if you have info.

Colo. man missing in search for Lost Dutchman gold mine

1 comment Jan. 17, 2010 02:15 PM
Associated Press

PHOENIX - Arizona
authorities are searching for a Colorado man whose mother says disappeared while searching for the storied Lost Dutchman gold mine.

The Marcicopa County Sheriff's Office has been organizing searches for 35-year-old Jesse Capen since hikers discovered his Jeep near Old Tortilla Ranch on Dec. 20 but have found no trace of him in the desert near the Superstition Mountains east of Phoenix.

"It's a pretty desolate area. It looks like you stepped on the moon," said Don Roughan, a sheriff's deputy.

The hikers who found Capen's Jeep said his wallet, backpack, cellphone, food and sleeping bag were also in a tent nearby. About 100 people, dogs and helicopters searched for Capen on Saturday and have covered a 10-mile radius near his tent.

Capen's mother, Cynthia Burnett, said her son was obsessed with the Lost Dutchman mine and had more than 100 books and maps about it. He arrived in Apache Junction, east of Phoenix, on Nov. 22 to begin looking for the mine, Burnett said.

"This is beyond obsessed," she said.

Burnett said she fears her son may have been bitten by a rattlesnake or injured in a fall and then attacked by a bear. She described her son as a "gentle giant" - about 6-foot-4 and more than 200 pounds - who went into the desert unarmed in search of the gold mine, which has been the subject of movies.

She said her son planned to return to Denver by Christmas.

Capen had been working as a bellhop at a hotel in downtown Denver for the past 11 years.

[joebartels]

Man for some reason this just hits home more than a tourist falling of the edge of the GC for snapshots

That's a big adjustment from downtown Denver to the central catclaw infested Superstitions. Can't be good, nobody leaves their wallet.

[Grasshopper]

"It's a pretty desolate area. It looks like you stepped on the moon," said Don Roughan, a sheriff's deputy.

I don't get this statement at all. Is this the Tortilla Ranch area at the end of 4x4 FR213 they are referring to here?.. http://hikearizona.com/location_g.php?GPS=7369 This area has never reminded me of what I would think it would be like to "step on the moon".

[big_load]

He'd more than likely be well off-trail when his mishap occurred. He'll be hard to find, especially if scavengers have had their way.

[SuperstitionGuy]

"It's a pretty desolate area. It looks like you stepped on the moon," said Don Roughan, a sheriff's deputy.

I don't get this statement at all. Is this the Tortilla Ranch area at the end of 4x4 FR213 they are referring to here?.. http://hikearizona.com/location_g.php?GPS=7369 This area has never reminded me of what I would think it would be like to "step on the moon".[/quote]

I have just checked with my search and rescue contacts in Arizona and his camp was at or near Kane Spring and they suspect and have been searching the Tortilla Mtn. area where there are a number of old mining sites. With the weather front that is approaching the searches will be put on hold until better weather conditions prevail.

I have my own thoughts on where he might have traveled to and got into trouble but alas I am stuck here in Utah until February. If he is not found before then is there anyone willing to join me for a two or three weekday journey to search for him?

[Vaporman]

That stinks. I saw the SAR in the area last weekend and wondered who they were looking for. I've actually recently been looking at a route up to Tortilla Mountain...

[joebartels]

With the storms coming don't get into the situation I was lured into four years ago
http://hikearizona.com/phoZOOM.php?ZIP=24755
bad, bad, bad idea

[nonot]

I believe a popular destination for Dutch Hunters is "Lost Ridge" up on Peters Mesa. Not knowing the water source conditions, Kane Spring would be a sensable base camp to get there on a dayhike. It is possible he got off trail and headed down Peter's Canyon as well as it is not a distinct crossing. On top of Peters Mesa the trail is hard to find. That whole section of the Supes is a pretty rugged area visited by few.

[Vaporman]

With the storms coming don't get into the situation I was lured into four years ago
http://hikearizona.com/phoZOOM.php?ZIP=24755
bad, bad, bad idea

That's crazy! Yea, I'll avoid the snow but at the same time all this potential rain could fill the canyons up with water for a week or two...

LoL, I can attest to missing the Peters Mesa trail and heading down Peters Canyon thought he'd eventually pop out at Tortilla Flat if he kept on going.

[DarthStiller]

don't get into the situation I was lured into four years ago

Was that 4 years or 3 years ago? I got stuck in a big storm in the eastern supes 3 years ago January.

[BobP]

In response to Stiller:
The pic set is dated Mar 2006.

[joebartels]

This was that freak storm in March. It had already been almost hot out the week prior. I almost spent the night there as Tortilla road is slanted for a quarter mile stretch before the old ranch foundations. When the snow melted during my hike 4WD proved useless to staying on the road.

[rally_toad]

Missing since November 22nd! Tent was found almost a month ago! That doesn't sound like good odds to me

[DesertDirtDog]

Missing since November 22nd! Tent was found almost a month ago! That doesn't sound like good odds to me

I don't think anyone is expecting anything good to come.

I was in Peter's Canyon JAN 2nd, and ran into a couple of Maricopa County S&R volunteers with their cadaver dog. They just want the family to have closure.

Anyone who's hiked that trail/area of the Wilderness can tell you that it is not a place to be if you're not in reasonable shape, and according to the volunteers, the missing man wasn't.

[te_wa]

i was out here doing 2 backpacks from Tortilla, on the 6th of December and again on the 13th. I did not notice a Jeep or any evidence of camping.
Joe, Hank and Gabrielle may have seen a Jeep, but I did not.
poor guy's pro'lly stuck in the jungle down in Pistol Canyon

[joebartels]

Now I really hope they find something for the family's sake. Hopefully nothing funky is going on here like foul play.

[Jeffshadows]

Now I really hope they find something for the family's sake. Hopefully nothing funky is going on here like foul play.

I was thinking the that same thing, actually.

[SuperstitionGuy]

poor guy's pro'lly stuck in the jungle down in Pistol Canyon

I am thinking the trap or area around it in Trap Canyon , as it's probably only about three miles away from his campsite.

[big_load]

I am thinking the trap or area around it in Trap Canyon , as it's probably only about three miles away from his campsite.

Is there a mineralogical reason to look there? I wouldn't have thought so.

[SuperstitionGuy]

Mineralogical deposits no, but claim markers and prospect holes yes. After all what Dutchman Hunter needs evidence of mineral to start digging a hole or marking a claim? :-({|= :whistle:

There was a sluice operation at the eastern end back in the late 1970's or early 1980's and they left behind quite a bit of camping gear, gold mining equipment and trash. Go figure? :roll: