Search to end for Minn. father and son missing in Rockies

Officials plan to suspend the search Wednesday night for a father and son from Minnesota who are believed to be missing in the mountains west of Denver.

Damian McManus and his 18-year-old son Evan of St. Louis Park were reported missing on Sunday. They were on a father-and-son spring break hiking trip.

Bill Barwick, public information officer for the Alpine Rescue Team, which helped in the search, said little is known about the direction the hikers headed after they left their car in a parking lot halfway up Mt. Evans, which is west of Denver.

"We've pretty much exhausted all possibilities of locating these two gentleman," Barwick said. "We've looked everywhere we could look for them."

About 100 volunteers and multiple helicopters were used in the search. Searchers encountered difficult terrain and three to five feet of snow.

Barwick said it's possible that search efforts may resume after some snow on the mountain melts.

"Certainly in the coming weeks as the weather gets better, we'll probably go back up in and search particular areas," Barwick said.

Alpine Rescue Team spokesperson Steve Wilson said that search team leaders met with the family today to explain that few options remained.

"It's a hard pill to swallow when we tell them that we're basically calling off the search because we don't know what else to do," Wilson said. "They were up there yesterday and today, they saw the efforts our members put forth, they saw the skill, they saw the numbers, they saw the heart."

The McManus family, including Damian's wife, mother and daughter, are in Colorado. Family spokesperson Andrea Bouzrara said on Wednesday night that the family was still learning about the decision.