Chad is believed to have parked his vehicle in Rocky Mountain National Park at the North Inlet Trailhead on September 27, 2023, with the intention of trail running to Mount Alice, via the East Inlet Trail. Chad's route had his destination as returning to the North Inlet Trailhead on September 27. Chad is described as a fit runner with both trail running and marathon experience. He may be wearing a black North Face jacket, black running shorts or leggings, and a gray fanny pack.

On October 9th 2023, the large scale search of the park was discontinued due to the winter weather making the search dangerous. Once weather improved, small scale searches were to be continued.  His find a grave page indicates that the death date is the day that the large scale search was called off.