Steven Beare
Russian search-and-rescue teams looking for Steven Beare, a Littleton police officer who went missing while mountain climbing nearly two weeks ago, have called off their efforts, according to Beare's wife, Olivia.
In a June 27 Facebook post, Olivia Beare said that snow and harsh weather conditions made it difficult for the search to continue. Mount Elbrus, the highest mountain in Russia, is filled with thousands of crevasses spanning hundreds of miles that her husband could have fallen into, she wrote.
"Life itself as I know it is looking extremely bleak... ," the Highlands Ranch woman wrote on the Search for Steven Facebook page, which has more than 5,000 members.
Steven Beare, 32, was ascending his first solo climb on Mount Elbrus when a whiteout blizzard hit. He was confirmed missing on June 16 when he did not return to his check-in point on the mountain.
Beare, a Colorado National Guardsman and former United States Army scout, is described as an adventurer whose goal is to climb the seven highest summits in the world - which include Mount Elbrus at 18,510 feet.
He and his wife are high school sweethearts who recently moved to Highlands Ranch from Roxborough. They have a 20-month-old son and Olivia Beare is 12 weeks pregnant.
The plea to find Beare garnered attention worldwide.
The Colorado Police Officers Foundation created a PayPal account to raise money for private helicopters for search-and-rescue teams, led by professional climber Don Bowie, of Canada, who will continue his search day-by-day, according to Olivia Beare.
On June 23, U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman - whose district includes Littleton and Highlands Ranch - met with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak in Washington, D.C., to discuss the deployment of specialized mountain search-and-rescue teams and Russian military helicopters in the search.
Thousands of members of the Search For Steven Facebook page have posted prayers and ideas to aid in the search.
In a statement from the Littleton Police Department, Olivia Beare and her family ask for continued prayers for Steven Beare and for privacy as they work through the difficult days and weeks ahead.
"I want to express my gratitude for the many ways my family has been helped and encouraged," Beare said. "These difficult times have been eased by so many acts of kindness."
