Missing Denver Preschool Teacher: Backcountry Skiier Disappears

DENVER, CO -- A long-time Denver preschool teacher who enjoyed "solitary cross country skiing" was reported missing by his school last week, after colleagues found his snow-covered car at a trailhead near the Continental Divide. Peter McInerney was last seen Feb. 18 and did not show up for work on Feb. 20, reported the Children’s Center at Park Hill United Methodist Church in a letter to parents.

Clear Creek Sheriff's deputies and the Evergreen-based Alpine Rescue Team searched the Jones Pass trail several days last week near Berthoud Falls, with help from Colorado Flight For Life and search dogs, said ART spokesperson Dawn Wilson. Wilson said a highly trained team covered the most dangerous parts of the trail in wind and snowy weather Saturday, but found no sign of McInerney.

"[The trail's] in the middle of nowhere," she said.

McInerney was known to be a very conscientious employee and had "never been so much as late for a day of school," the school's director told parents in a letter obtained by Channel 9. Staff contacted his family members and tried calling his cell phone, but got no answer, wrote Sherri Seirmarco. Children ages three-12 attend the Denver school and childcare center located on Montview Boulevard.

"[Peter] often skis alone there is no way of deciphering which direction he had been traveling," she wrote. "We are seeking professional advice on how to proceed with this disheartening and ambiguous situation."

The Clear County Sheriff's office is in charge of the investigation. Wilson said ART would be deploying more rescue resources in upcoming days.

Alpine Rescue Team advises anyone who skis alone to make sure to "let someone know where you are, so if you don't come back, we can find you sooner," Wilson said. She also said it's important to "know your skill level and the trail conditions [in the backcountry] whether it's ski season or any time of year," she said.

Here is the letter sent to parents as published by Channel 9:

It is with incredibly heavy hearts that we share the news that long-time Park Hill Children's Center teacher, Peter McInerney, is missing. He was last seen Sunday afternoon.

Peter did not report to work on Tuesday, February 20th. In his many years at the Children's Center Peter has never been so much as late for a day of school. We tried reaching him on his cell phone, but his mailbox was full and he did not respond to text messages. We then contacted his sisters and a preliminary search was begun. It is well-known that Peter enjoys solitary Cross Country skiing, and so a list of his usual haunts was compiled.

While an old friend of his drove up to the mountains to check on these locales Sherri and I drove to his home. We did not see his vehicle and there was no answer at his door. With permission from his family we entered his home. We did not find Peter.

A short time later his car was located covered in snow at the Jones Pass trail head. A 'Missing Person' report was filed and the local Search and Rescue team began looking for Peter midday Tuesday. By sundown they had found no traces.

On Wednesday, Search and Rescue teams from multiple counties joined the effort and searched the vast area around the Jones Pass trail head. They were aided by aerial support. At the end of Wednesday no trace of Peter had been found, and as he often skis alone there is no way of deciphering which direction he had been traveling.

Authorities have decided to end the official search. An unofficial search will continue, but in the Search and Rescuer's expert opinion it is unlikely that he would have survived extended exposure to the current weather conditions.

At this time we have no further information and we wish to respect the difficult nature of this revelation for Peter's family. His large group of siblings from all across the country gathered yesterday (Wednesday) at the Search Command Center and have been in contact with us.

We are waiting on Peter's family to determine our next steps. We will be in touch soon with more details and plans.

As you can imagine, this is an extremely delicate situation and we are all processing what this means in our own individual ways. Our plan for dealing with children's questions on this topic (as they arise) will be short, factual, and we will avoid dishonesty. We encourage you to do the same. While we understand that conversations happen organically and there is no way to script a conversation, especially with young children, our general response will be "Peter is missing. We aren't sure where he is. This is very sad."
We are seeking professional advice on how to proceed with this disheartening and ambiguous situation. We will keep you informed as best practices are suggested.

If possible, we are asking current families to reunite with their children today sooner rather than later. This is an extremely difficult time for our staff and we want to give them the opportunity to begin grieving and starting to processing this tragedy as soon as possible.

Thank you for your support during this extremely difficult time.
Sherri Seirmarco - Executive Director
Johnny Moses - Assistant Director

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