Ali Kenani, 58, left Nebraska in spring 2019 driving toward California to visit his son. On May 11, 2019 he was seen at a convenience store near Aspen, Colorado, and was reported lost in Basalt. Two Basalt police officers gave him directions to return to the interstate; that encounter is believed to be one of the last confirmed contacts.

On May 12, 2019 his vehicle was found abandoned in a private driveway on Capitol Creek Road near the Capitol Peak Trailhead by Snowmass Village and Aspen. The road was partially impassable from snow and the driveway was the last place to turn around before a snowbank about a mile from the trailhead. The car was described as pretty beat up with extensive hail damage. Investigators said there was no indication Kenani, who had no known plans to hike, intended to enter the remote valley.

A 25-person search by multiple agencies used dogs and a drone with heat-seeking technology to comb roughly 900 acres but turned up no clues. His disappearance was reported to the Lincoln Police Department in July 2019. Does anyone who traveled near Capitol Creek Road in May 2019 remember seeing Ali Kenani or his vehicle?