Updated at 10:22 p.m.
STOWE — In a brief update late Thursday night, Burlington police said they had located a man who had been reported missing after he planned to hike Mount Mansfield in Stowe earlier in the week.
“We are relieved to share that the missing person has been found and is safe and with loved ones,” Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad wrote in a press release shortly after 10 p.m. We will share additional information as it develops. Thanks to the Stowe Police Department who did the lion’s share of work on this case.”
He shared no further information.
The search began after Tenzin Choyang, 30, of Woodside, New York, was reported to be last heard from around 12:05 a.m. Monday, according to an earlier press release issued by Burlington police.
Rainfall that has led to massive flooding around the state this week began on Sunday, but police did not indicate if weather conditions were believed to be a factor.
Around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, the release stated, the police department was notified of a “potential missing person,” identified as Choyang, who was last known to be in Stowe and on his way to hike Mount Mansfield.
“An officer spoke with the family and learned Choyang’s return flight home was canceled and he has not been rescheduled for a different date or time,” the release stated.
The release indicated that search efforts were ongoing and that Stowe police were assisting.
Several of Choyang’s family members, including his mother, all from New York City, waited Thursday afternoon outside the Stowe Police Department for word about the search.
Tayang Dolma, his sister, said her brother had flown into Burlington Saturday and was expected to fly back later Sunday but his flight was canceled. She said Choyang had traveled to Vermont to hike at Stowe, adding that traveling to go on a hike was not unusual for him.
She said the last time she heard from her brother was a Facebook message sent at 12:05 a.m. on Monday.
“It just asked me to send him an Uber so he could come back home because his flight had been canceled,” Dolma said of the message, adding that she didn’t see the message right away because she doesn’t use that service much and it was sent late at night.
Family members then tried to reach out to him with no success, deciding to travel to Vermont themselves Wednesday to do what they could to find Choyang, who they said had moved to the United States from Nepal.
Dolma said after arriving in Vermont on Wednesday, they stopped and talked to a Burlington police officer at the Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport and reported Choyang missing.
Stowe Police Chief Donald Hull said Thursday that he learned of the case from Burlington police late Wednesday afternoon.
“It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack,” the police chief said. “We don’t have confirmations of any sightings after Sunday, ever.”
The police chief said Choyang checked into a room at the Commodores Inn in Stowe a little after midnight Sunday. Then, Hull said, Choyang went up to the mountain around 9 a.m. Sunday and returned to the inn around 4:30 p.m.
“That’s the last time anyone has seen him,” Hull said.
A crew, including members of the town’s mountain rescue team, had been sent Thursday to check out trails near the entrance to the Notch Road in Stowe, but no sign of Choyang was reported by midafternoon.
“We’re just checking everywhere where we possibly would think he may have gone,” Hull said.
The Tibetan Association of Vermont is assisting Choyang’s family. A post Thursday on the association’s Facebook page thanked people for their support in trying to find Choyang.
“Burlington Tibetan Community is strong and very special because of people like you all,” the posting stated.
