Courtesy Photo of missing hiker, Stephen "Otter" Olshansky
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"I am writing because we have been looking for a hiker who may or may not be in trouble, but recent reports indicate he may be in the Silver City/Lordsburg area," Teresa Ana Martinez, Continental Divide Trail Coalition director, said. "He was spotted in Lordsburg on New Year's Eve, and the description given matches our hiker, but we have yet to confirm this is him."
Photo of tent Olshansky uses.
The situation: Stephen "Otter" Olshansky is completing his fifth through hike of the CDT in a southbound direction. He left Chama, N.M., on November 14 and has not been heard from since. While a loner, he is very connected via Facebook and his phone to friends and family, especially friends in Albuquerque.
He had a package that was left in Ghost Ranch and never picked up (not unusual for hikers). He was seen in Cuba December 5/6 by many credible reports including spending all day at the McDonalds simply sitting there doing nothing, and then visiting Post Office to see if he had a package. Some of his behavior there however has created some concern he may have some cognitive impairment either due to a head injury or malnutrition/hypothermia. The reason for this concern is while in Cuba he asked for directions to get back on the Trail.
"He has hiked the CDT 4 times and knows the Trail better than I do," Martinez said. " In addition, he was spotted in Grants both at the USFS office, the post office and two convenience stores on December 12. In the interaction with USFS he mentioned he was hiking the CDT but he asked where the US Post Office was located and which hotels to check out for staying. Again, Steve is very familiar with Grants and has friends in Grants he typically stays with and would have stayed with since it is known he is low on cash. While for some people these behaviors may not seem out of the ordinary, for Otter, it doesnG