<div>Hi, my name is Ethan Whitson, and I am running the Leadville 100 to raise money for the Vail Mountain Rescue Group.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>VMRG has played an extensive role in my life. In 2005, my aunt, Michelle Vanek, went missing on the Mount of the Holy Cross. A massive eight-day search ensued, spearheaded by VMRG, involving 800 people. Nothing was ever found; however, 19 years later, the search was reinvigorated by the discovery of a boot that belonged to Michelle.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>I can definitively say that Aunt Michelle’s disappearance is still, to this day, the most impactful moment of my life. Some of my earliest memories are seeing my family on the news as I sat in my grandparents’ basement watching the search efforts unfold. Sitting and waiting with my cousins for positive news, for days, while no progress was made, is something that still burns deeply in my mind.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>This event started a complex relationship with the mountains. They are my sacred space and, quite frankly, my personal church. However, there has always been the heavy feeling of Aunt Michelle's unresolved case every time I stepped into the alpine.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Although the search never truly ended, Michelle’s story lived in the back of the minds of first responders. The sheriff’s office never took down the grid search map from Michelle’s search, even after all the time had passed.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>After the boot was found, Michelle appeared in a dream to Vail Mountain Rescue Group Board President Scott Beebe in the fall of 2023, saying she didn’t want to be found by men. Taking the dream to heart, Beebe turned over the case to the group’s growing number of female members.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>A team was assembled, and they spent three weeks searching for Michelle’s remains with new information leading them in a different direction, a direction previously unsearched for the prior 18 years.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>After three weeks, members of the team were able to locate Michelle’s remains.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>I always held onto hope, but I thought the chances of this being resolved in my lifetime were close to impossible, especially with all the time that had passed.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>My family and I are extremely grateful to the search team, and I am hoping that this fundraiser can help them get new gear so they can continue saving lives and providing answers to families.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Search and Rescue Groups are the backbone of the mountain community; they are criminally underfunded and underappreciated, and I hope we can help turn both of those around.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Thank You Notes To VMRG</strong>
</div>
<div>If you were also impacted by this and would like to write a thank you note or message to the team that found Michelle, I am going to gather them and present them with the money at the end of August. Feel free to send them to my parents house (text me for address), via email to reed at theguidenetwork . com or text me directly (3/827-4770) and we can make sure they are passed along (it doesn't allow phone numbers or email address so they are abbreviated)
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/93397575_1754602758376811_r.jpeg" width="100%" />
<div>Picture is from Ethan recreating Michelle's Halo Route. The pic on the right is the last pic taken of Michelle. You can read more about that day <a href="https://www.vaildaily.com/news/gone-but-not-forgotten-remembering-missing-hiker-michelle-vanek-15-years-later/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>If You Would Like To Read More About The Story:</strong>
</div>
<div><a href="https://www.vaildaily.com/news/female-led-search-michelle-vanek-missing-hiker-mount-of-the-holy-cross/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Vail Daily</a>
</div>
<div><a href="https://www.9news.com/video/news/local/colorado-news/73-622ad509-e5a2-40b9-a577-d48ae150b571" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">9 News Video</a>
</div>
<div><a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/michelle-vanek-disappearance-mount-holy-cross-team-women-colorado-mountain-clues/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CBS</a>
</div>
<div><a href="https://people.com/items-belonging-to-missing-hiker-may-have-been-found-19-years-later-8713915" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">People</a>
</div>
<div><a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2024/09/15/michelle-vanek-missing-mount-holy-cross-lakewood/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Denver Post</a>
</div>

Laura Sayell

Stephanie Roehler

Jess Hanson

Anonymous

Gabriel Baer

Sharon Johnson

Michelle Sturgeon

Bernadette Whitney

Aidan Ridley

Naomi Silva

Wendy Warnecke

Emily Pembroke

Anouck Giraud

Kristin O'Donnell

Mark Spidell

Ann Hamilton

Molly Bachrodt

Support Vail Mountain Rescue's New Gear

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

be_supporter_comments_enabled_supported_funds

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

Supporter Comments Eligible Funds

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

currencyCode

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

writePath

Stream Notification

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

Users Receiving Braze KYC Validation Failed

Native 11.3.0 and above

Influencer - Prod

US fundraisers and US users

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

partnerId

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Support Vail Mountain Rescue's New Gear

Still $1,275 to go. Help us build momentum.