This past weekend I became involved in the recovery of a lost horse that was found by a long distance trail-runner from Conifer on the day after Christmas. I learned about the forlorn horse as a result of a local Buffalo Creek resident's email who saw the trail-runner's postings about his discovery on PineCam ( www.pinecam.com) which is a popular site for the Hwy 285 community to list lost and found, discuss issues that effect the community and serves as an open communication forum for people to share concerns. Apparently, back on September 28 th, someone posted about a lost horse named Bear. The trail-runner was familiar with Pinecam and went to the Pet Corner Forum where lost and found animals are posted and saw the posting about the lost horse-Bear which read:

"The horse's name is 'Bear' and he's sorrel colored. The owners' names are Reggie at 303 875-5158 and Sharon at 303 725-8712. He was lost on Sept 28, 08 off McCurdy Creek trailhead #637 last seen in Craig Meadows near Payne Creek, approx. 1 mile from the Colorado Trail. The area is behind Glen Isle on southbound 285 after Bailey but before Shawnee. He has a contact tag on his purple halter with name and address and phone number. They were camping just outside Bailey at Payne Gulch. The horse was actually lost at Craig Meadows. He broke loose and walked off towards the Colorado Trail. If you have any info please call."

As a result, the trail-runner who's Pinecam name is "Funkylegs" posted that he was on a remote quarry road north of Raleigh Peak and came across what he thought was a wild horse grazing. When he approached the horse he realized that the horse was wearing a saddle and didn't spook when he got close even with his dogs. The horse was emaciated and in bad shape. He said he contacted the Jeffco Animal Control but they told him they would look for him in the morning. He thought he'd check Pinecam just in case and came across the post about Bear. He tried contacting the owners but the line went to a business VM and another number's VM box was full. He then asked the PineCam community how to get a hold of the owners and to have them contact him ASAP. He expressed his distress over the condition and fate of the horse and was committed to helping the horse be found and saved.

In a follow-up posting the trail-runner said that after Looking at the photos of Bear, he thought the horse he had seen was him, although he was in much worse condition. Since he didn't know much about horses, he didn't know if the horse was in shape for him to lead out to safety as he was miles from any navigable road though just yards from the Colorado Trail.

More specific info from Funkylegs stated that the saddle was now under the horse's belly and the cinch had become embedded in its hide so he was unable to remove the saddle. The posting by Bear's owner only mentioned that he was wearing a purple halter and no saddle so now there was the possibility that this was a different horse. Nonetheless, Funkylegs was persistent and posted that he came across the horse about 1PM on December 26th but couldn't reach anyone until 3:30. He offered to help the owners track him down that night if necessary as temperatures were in the single digits not to mention the wind chill factor.

Soon "PineCammers" started to rally to the cause and one person posted that they checked the thread about Bear often, feeling really bad for the horse and the owners and that they truly hoped this was the missing horse and wouldn't it be a wonderful Christmas miracle? The person went on to say that they knew "cammers" would step up and give any help this horse needed. Even if it were not the missing horse, it must belong to someone if it had a saddle on and must be rescued!

Funkylegs continued posting info and stated that in following up with Jeffco they said they didn't have the manpower and wouldn't be able to assist. When he gave a more detailed description of the area where he found the horse and that the best way in was the old 'Top of the World' campground access road off of CR126 just before the Buffalo Creek North Fork Fire Station, another Pinecammer from Buffalo Creek sent a private email to the horse people she knows who live in that area. That's when I learned of the saga and became involved. I offered to assist in the morning if Jeffco was unable to do so as he had been told.

The next morning I received a phone call from Funkylegs and we agreed to meet at 10:30 near the North Fork Fire Station. I then received another phone call from another Pinecammer named "Muleskinner" that she would like to assist as well. That call was followed by another from a neighbor and horsewoman who offered to help and was going to enlist yet another neighbor and experienced horseperson. I loaded up my truck with the necessary gear and headed toward our rendezvous.

When I drove just beyond the fire station I spotted two Jeffco Sheriff's vehicles in front of the Forest Service Access Road. My first thought was "I thought they said they couldn't assist?" I parked my truck and asked the Deputy Sheriff if they were there to look for the horse and indeed they were. Dep. Sheriff Mike Sensano, one of two resident mountain patrol deputies, took it upon himself to assist the assigned Animal Control Officer on his day off. He asked those of us who had assembled to find the horse to sit tight until they did a cursory check of the area along the Forest Road and not to begin a search until and unless he requested assistance. On that note we went to the nearby North Fork Fire Station to wait.