More than 250 searchers continued their hunt Tuesday for a U.S. Forest Service firefighter who went missing in New Mexico on Friday while scouting a wildfire.
Rugged terrain and foul weather have hampered the search for Token Adams, who was last seen when he rode out on an ATV last week to survey the perimeter of a wildfire, according to local NBC News affiliate KOB.
Adams, 41, was an engine captain with the Jemez Ranger District near Santa Fe, according to the Albuquerque Journal newspaper. He was sent out on Friday, incident information officer John Helmich told the paper, to look for smoke after a lightning strike.
Adams, who had served a year a half with the district, has not responded to calls to his radio, Helmich told the Albuquerque Journal. He failed to return to a pre-arranged meeting point Friday with two other firefighters who were also riding ATVs around a 25-acre wildfire in the area of Jemez Springs.
The lightning-started wildfire was fully contained late Friday.
The search is being conducted in mesas and canyons, through heavy timber, brush and grass.
“It’s an extensive area with very difficult terrain,” Helmich told the Albuquerque Journal. “This makes it extremely difficult to locate a very small target.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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