Search For Man In Glacier Park

A 25-year-old Georgia man unaccounted for since Wednesday is the subject of a search at Glacier National Park.

Rangers and two search dogs looked for David Eric Eley on Tuesday, and there were plans to intensify the search today.

Rangers became suspicious when Eley’s car remained at the Lincoln Lake trail head for several days, said Amy Vanderbilt, a park spokeswoman. Eley did not have a back country camping permit.

Rangers found his sleeping bag, tent and backpack in the car, suggesting he was not on an extended camping trip.

Lincoln Lake is a popular fishing and day hiking destination on Snyder Ridge, just above Lake McDonald on the park’s west side.

Eley’s mother in Trion, Ga., told rangers she last heard from her son when he called from West Glacier on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, 10 rangers searched the Lincoln Lake area, the densely forested Snyder Ridge and the shore of Lake McDonald. The search dogs apparently picked up a scent at Eley’s car and followed it across the Going-to-the-Sun Road toward Lake McDonald before losing the trail, Vanderbilt said.

She said there were plans to add helicopters, more search dogs and more ground personnel to the search today.

Eley is 5 feet 5 inches tall, 150 pounds with long, dark brown hair and brown eyes. He also goes by the names Eric Eley, David Feley and Clarence Thomas Bishop.