A solo hiker who left a rental car at the edge of Wyoming’s Wind River Range five days ago and headed into the mountains for Gannett Peak is missing, triggering a ground-and-air search as rescuers try to reconstruct where he went.
Shaun Mackelprang, a Missouri deputy attorney general, set out this past Thursday from the Green River Lakes Trailhead with plans to reach Wyoming’s highest mountain via Tourist Creek, the Sublette County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday.
Mackelprang, 55, was traveling alone.
His rental car has since been located at the trailhead, Tip Top Search and Rescue coordinator Kenna Tanner told Cowboy State Daily.
What happened after Mackelprang left it and headed into the Winds is now the focus of the search.
“We’re trying to track down his route and people that have seen him and people that may have … seen where he was at along the way,” Tanner said Tuesday.
At the same time, investigators are talking with his family and friends, trying to piece together his plans and determine where he might have traveled.
The sheriff’s office describes Mackelprang as 5-foot-8 and weighing about 200 pounds.
As of late Tuesday morning, authorities had not publicly identified a confirmed sighting of him after he left Green River Lakes.
Headed For Gannett
Mackelprang’s planned destination would have taken him deep into the northern Wind River Range.
Gannett Peak rises to 13,804 feet, the U.S. Geological Survey says.
The mountain stands on the crest of the Continental Divide in the northern portion of the Wind River Range, an exceptionally rugged and remote stretch of Wyoming.
Squaretop Mountain, one of the defining landmarks of the area, towers above Green River Lakes, which is at roughly 8,000 feet.
The lakes also are near the headwaters of the Green River.
Searchers are looking not only for Mackelprang, but also for anyone who may have seen him along the way.
A hiker who remembers crossing paths with him could give rescuers another known point beyond Green River Lakes.
High Places
Away from the mountains, Mackelprang has built a long career in Missouri law.
He serves as a deputy attorney general with the Missouri Attorney General’s Office in Jefferson City, a position confirmed in recent court filings.
His work has included significant criminal and public-corruption cases.
Outside the courtroom, Mackelprang’s public social media shows another recurring interest: mountains and state high points.
Over the years, he has posted photographs documenting visits to several.
In 2023, Mackelprang posted from the Mina Sauk Falls Trail at Taum Sauk Mountain State Park and noted its status as Missouri’s highest point. Another post documents Hoye-Crest on Backbone Mountain, Maryland’s 3,360-foot high point.
He also has posted from Woodall Mountain, Mississippi’s highest point, and shared a photograph discussing the trail toward California’s Mount Whitney, the highest mountain in the contiguous United States.
Search officials have not said whether Mackelprang had previously climbed in the Wind River Range or whether collecting state high points was specifically the reason he set out for Gannett.
“Our office remains in close contact with the officials conducting the search and rescue operation for Deputy Attorney General Shaun Mackleprang. We are praying for Shaun’s safety and for the protection of everyone involved in the search," the Missouri Attorney General’s Office told Cowboy State Daily in a statement Tuesday afternoon.
Five Days
Tuesday marked five days since Mackelprang began his trek.
Authorities have not said when Mackelprang intended to return, when he was reported overdue or precisely when the physical search began.
They also have not publicly said whether he was carrying a satellite communicator, personal locator beacon or other device that could help rescuers determine where he traveled.
For now, searchers are trying to fill in the blank space after Mackelprang walked away from his rental car.
The Sublette County Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone who might have encountered him in the Winds to call 307-367-4378.
Cowboy State Daily will update this story as more information becomes available.
Kolby Fedore can be reached at kolby@cowboystatedaily.com.
