DELTA, Colo. (KREX) — The Delta County Sheriff's Office and Delta County Search and Rescue have suspended their search for a Cedaredge man who went missing in December 2023.
On Dec. 20, 2023, the Cedaredge Police Department was contacted to perform a welfare check on 39-year-old Steven Volquardsen due to suicidal comments he made. When officers arrived at his home they were unable to find him.
On Dec. 22, 2023, deputies with the Delta County Sheriff's Office responded to a report of an abandoned vehicle in the 28,000 block of Surface Creek Road that was left parked and running for two days. Deputies at the scene found a dark-colored SUV with Colorado plates registered to Volquardsen. The driver's side door was left open with the key in the ignition and the vehicle appeared to be out of gas.
The Delta County Search and Rescue Team was requested to help search for Volquardsen based on the family's concern; they searched the immediate area for several hours but were unable to find him.
Search and Rescue team members returned the following day and searched for him until extreme winter weather made conditions unsafe. Additional searches were conducted several times throughout the winter, but they were still unable to locate him.
On May 18, the Delta County Search and Rescue Team, with the assistance of 27 searchers from other teams, performed an extensive search around the Spalding Mountain area — Volquardsen's last known direction of travel. The teams were unable to find any sign of him.
Main search efforts have been suspended, but the Delta County Sheriff's Office and Delta County Search and Rescue will continue to look for him as new information is reported.
Sheriff Taylor and Search and Rescue Team Commander Toltz encourage anyone exploring the area of the Surface Creek Round Corrals or Spalding Mountain on the Grand Mesa to keep an eye out for anything out of place and report it immediately to Delta County Dispatch at 970-874-2015.