SAN MIGUEL COUNTY – Law enforcement officials in San Miguel County are searching for the whereabouts of a 33-year-old Grand Junction man, whose 1977 International Scout was found abandoned on Black Bear Pass road on Tuesday.

Matthew Busker was reported missing to the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office on Monday. His vehicle, a teal green 1977 Scout with a bikini top, was found abandoned by San Miguel County Road and Bridge crews a day later. It was found on Black Bear pass road approximately 1.5 miles inside the San Miguel County line at about 12,000 feet in elevation. 

Due to the circumstances the San Miguel County Sheriff's Office launched a search effort for Busker in that area.  Personnel from San Miguel County and San Juan County Sheriff's offices, a Bureau of Land Management Law Enforcement Officer, and a U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement Officer with a K9 searched the very rugged, remote area on foot, motorcycle, and ATV, as well as with an Olathe Spray Service helicopter, with no success.  Plans for further searches are pending.

It is believed Busker ate at The Pub in Ouray on Saturday, June 15.  Anyone speaking with Busker in Ouray or encountering him on the Black Bear Pass area, which he would have accessed from Hwy. 550 at the summit of Red Mountain Pass, is encouraged to contact San Miguel County Sheriff's Investigator Norman Squier at 970/728-1911.   

DENVER — The City of Montrose was awarded the title of an All America City Sunday, at the National Civic League's All America City awards held in Denver. Montrose is the U.S. first city to receive the award this year, said delegate Dee Coram. The All America City award has been described as a "Nobel Prize for civic accomplishment.” The NCL has given the award to 600 communities nationwide since 1949. "All-America City awards recognize local action through community-based problem solving and civic engagement efforts involving the public, private and nonprofit sectors,” according to the organization’s website. “The designation give the winning communities ‘bragging rights’ than can help them recruit new businesses, increase jobs and obtain grants for community betterment projects in the future," the NCL states. Montrose was a finalist for the award in 1990, finishing 11th in a field of 20. ONLINE: See up-to-date pictures, comments and stories from Montrose delegates in Denver on Twitter by searching #MontroseCOAllAmericanCity For an expanded story see the Thursday edition of The Watch.