Clay Rubano Search

About Clay Rubano

Clay, a very experienced hiker and outdoor person worked the summers as a Ranger in Glacier National Park and also spent many seasons working on the ice in Antarctica. Clay also spent numerous seasons as a river guide in Colorado and Honduras.  Clay was working for National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) when he went missing. 

• http://claysclimbinghigher.blogspot.com/?gclid=CInI6IaHhpMCFRpOagodc0-uew

• http://www.thinking-expedition.com/clayr.html

Background of the search

On November 9th, Clay had dinner with some friends from work and mentioned that he was planning to hike above the falls on the Middle Fork of the Popo Agie River on Saturday the 10th. Clay's car was seen leaving his house about 0930 hours.  It is unclear the exact time that Clay started hiking.  Clay was not able to be reached by phone Saturday night and he did not arrive at work on Monday. His car was found Monday afternoon in a parking lot at the trailhead about 10 miles outside Lander. 

The Fremont County Sherriff's Department began organizing a search for Clay.  That evening a hasty search of the trail was conducted. The Sherriff's office coordinated a large search which consisted of air support, dog teams, and over 60 searchers.  No signs of Clay were found.

Who We Are

After the Sheriff's office ended their search a group of volunteers continued to look for Clay for an additional two weeks. Volunteers traveled across the country and consisted of friends, coworkers, local residents, dog teams, and several members of the local 4 wheel club. Margaret Goodro and Mary Schneider who worked with Clay in Glacier National Park coordinated the volunteer search. Seven dog teams and over 30 people participated in the volunteer search. The weather continued to get colder with large amounts of snow and ice accumulating in the search area.

No signs of Clay were found. The dog teams led by Janet Wilts did show interest in a number of areas but due to the cold weather and the snow levels the probability of detection was very low.

The group of volunteers is preparing to search for Clay in the Spring when weather permits. The Spring Search will be coordinated by Charlie Logan.