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To: SmoothSail who wrote (324222)	9/15/2009 1:39:40 AM
From: ManyMoose	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793933

Oh dear. I'm familiar with the country. Lots of places for a motorcycle to have trouble. If I talk to Smithee, I'll report back.

To: SmoothSail who wrote (324222)	9/15/2009 11:23:17 AM
From: ManyMoose	1 Recommendation Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793933

Talked to Smithee. He's in Missoula. They are pretty burned out, and are trying to regroup. Maybe he will go home and then restart. I volunteered if Smithee needs me. He spent several days camping in Sula and searching, which is right up my alley. I just thought of a back road Don Masters may have taken on the way to West Yellowstone. I don't know if it's been searched. Sula is situated in Ross's Hole, a beautiful valley where Lewis and Clark camped in 1805 and Clark camped in 1806. Alexander Ross described the valley in 1824. He called it the Valley of Troubles because his party encountered a dead end owing to deep snows in all the mountain passes. Ross was trying to avoid going through Hell Gate, which is where the Blackfoot Indians attacked the Salish in terrible massacres. It's now called Missoula.

To: SmoothSail who wrote (324222)	9/17/2009 11:55:57 PM
From: Alan Smithee	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793933

Home / News / Montana & Regional Family asks for help locating cross-country biker last seen in Bitterroot Valley Edition By SEPP JANNOTTA Ravalli Republic \| Posted: Thursday, September 17, 2009 6:25 pm \| No Comments Posted HAMILTON - A Denver man who rode his motorcycle through the Bitterroot Valley on Aug. 31 has apparently been missing ever since. Volunteers flew a helicopter search of Lost Trail Pass on Monday, but turned up no sign of 63-year-old Donald Masters, who was traveling between Orofino, Idaho, and West Yellowstone that day. "The last time anyone has seen him was in our county," said Ravalli County Sheriff Chris Hoffman. "He should have had to gas up in Wisdom or Rocker, and it appears he didn't make it there." What is known for certain is Masters never arrived home in Denver as expected later that week. Masters' family last had contact from him before he left Orofino. Once he was overdue, they checked his credit card accounts and found he last used a card to purchase gas at Lolo on the morning of Aug. 31, where a security camera recorded his presence. At 4:35 p.m. that day, a surveillance camera owned by the Darby marshall's office recorded a motorcyclist matching the description of Masters. "We're 99 percent sure that was him," said David Grossman, Masters' brother-in-law. Over the past week or so, the search for Masters has been exhaustive, said Grossman, a Walla Walla, Wash., resident and fellow motorcycling enthusiast. Members of the family have been canvassing the valley, trying to find anyone who might have encountered him. Grossman said law enforcement from Missoula, Ravalli and Clearwater, Idaho, counties have been investigating the case since he was reported missing Sept. 10. Hoffman said he and another officer drove Lost Trail Pass on Tuesday hoping to find some sign, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Grossman said various motorcycling groups have helped in the search as well. Grossman said the family is very grateful to all the help, especially to the bikers who are volunteering their time to search. "I can't say enough about those guys, it's amazing really," Grossman said. "I would say there are about a 100 people out looking for him, riding up and down the passes." A self employed entrepreneur, Masters was on a solo trip, riding his black Honda touring bike (a 2008 Goldwing with a yellow drybag) from Denver to California, up Walla Walla, across through Montana to Yellowstone and back to Denver. Given the amount of time that has passed, Grossman said he and the rest of Masters' friends and family are being "realistic" about the possibility that the missing man will turn up alive. Grossman added that Masters had a full complement of camping gear and likely food and water on the back of his bike - in the event that he had a non-life-threatening injury, he might have been able to hold on. "We're still holding out hope," Grossman said. Hoffman said his office continues to work on the case. Anyone with information about Masters' whereabouts should call the Ravalli County Sheriff's Office at 363-3033. Reporter Sepp Jannotta can be reached at 363-3300 or sjannotta@ravallirepublic.com Family asks for help locating cross-country biker last seen in Bitterroot Valley (17 September 2009) missoulian.com snipurl.com