Littleton Police Officer Missing Climbing Russia's Tallest Mountain

A Littleton police officer has gone missing while on a solo climb of Mt. Elbrus, the highest peak in Russia. Steven Scott Beare did not check in as scheduled on June 16.

The Colorado Police Foundation, which is raising money to organize a search party says that they know he was alive the next day because he tried to make calls from the mountain. Due to a blizzard, rescuers were not able to determine his exact location.

Beare is married and they have a 20-month-old son. She is 11-weeks pregnant. The foundation says that they also have "three loving puppies" who miss Steve very much.

The foundation says that Beare, an experienced climber with extensive training in mountaineering and cold weather climbing, has a goal of climbing the seven world summits. . (For more information on this and other local stories, subscribe to your local Patch for breaking news alerts.)

Mt. Elbrus is 18,510 feet high and the tallest peak in Europe.

Beare's family and friends are working with professional climber Don Bowie to organize a search search team of highly trained and experienced mountain climbers/rescuers.

The foundation says that Bowie is a professional high-altitude climber from Alberta, Canada who has extensive experience at mountain search and rescue.

He is working on hiring helicopters and assembling a team.

Meanwhile, Tass reports that a team of eight search and rescue personnel have been sent to the area where Beare was believed to have been. They will follow the route that he was on.

Photos Colorado Police Foundation