Michael Barbiere

On February 9, 2008, Wall Street trader Alphonse "Mike" Barbiere, 23, disappeared in Breckenridge, Colorado, after leaving a bar. He was reportedly intoxicated when he headed back to his rented condominium in blizzard conditions.

A search was mounted with about 60 people and three dogs, but was suspended by police on February 11. On April 4, a local man found Barbiere's American Express card in a field, and a body believed to be his was found in the field the following day, buried in deep snow. An autopsy on April 8 officially identified the body as Barbiere, who died of hypothermia due to exposure.

Barbiere had apparently gotten lost on the way back to his condo, mistakenly walked toward the lights of a local skating rink, and collapsed in the snow. The field was in the opposite direction from where he was last seen walking, and had not previously been searched.

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• KMGH (Denver): Coroner Says Missing Man Froze To Death (April 9, 2008)
  • "An autopsy completed on a missing man found over the weekend in a field in Breckenridge showed no trauma and no evidence of foul play."

• 9News (Denver): Body Officially Identified As Barbiere's (April 9, 2008)
• 9News (Denver): Man didn't have to walk far to find signs of missing NJ man (April 8, 2008)
• 9News (Denver): Autopsy delayed on body believed to be NJ man (April 7, 2008)
• The Denver Post: Speculation on last 40 minutes of N.J. man's life (April 6, 2008)
  • "Visibility was only 3 or 4 feet when Barbiere walked into the storm. When he realized he was going the wrong way and turned around, he walked by Village Road where he was supposed to turn right, his brother said."

• The Denver Post: Body of N.J. man found (April 5, 2008)
• CBS4Denver.com: Man's Family Keeps Search Alive In Breckenridge (March 17, 2008)
• ABC News: Missing Men Likely Buried in Snow (February 14, 2008)
• New York Post: Dire Snow Hunt (February 12, 2008)
• The Denver Post: "$10,000 reward offered in Breckenridge missing man case" (February 12, 2008)
  • "Mike is a very smart, trusting person," he continued. "Our feeling now, because they can't locate him, is that he's done something he's done in the past like sticking his thumb out to get a ride. It leads us to believe he got into a car, either in good faith or in bad faith. He's either in a safe place or potentially something very bad has happened to him, like a criminal act."

• Summit Daily News: Family takes on search for Barbiere (February 11, 2008)
• Denver Post: "N.J. Man Vanishes During Blizzard" (February 11, 2008)
• Vail Daily: "Search Ends for Man Who Vanished in Breckenridge" (February 11, 2008)
• NJ.com: Colorado Cops Suspend Search for Jersey Man (February 11, 2008)

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