Rocky Mountain National Park rangers have located Jay Starr Jr., a 34-year-old New York man who was planning to walk over Trail Ridge Road and had been missing since Tuesday, when rangers told him he was not prepared for the hike.

Starr, of Cohoes, N.Y., was found Thursday afternoon on the section of Trail Ridge Road just east of Ute Crossing, park spokeswoman Kyle Patterson said. He was airlifted at 4:15 p.m. to Medical Center of the Rockies, but his current status is unknown.

Patterson said the park would likely not be releasing any update on Starr until Friday morning.

Starr had arrived on foot to Rocky Mountain National Park on Monday, and told rangers he wanted to walk westbound over Trail Ridge Road. Rangers advised Starr against the trip based on his “behavior” and his “lack of preparedness,” according to a news release.

Starr was wearing tennis shoes, jeans or tan canvas pants, a black or blue jacket, no hat or gloves and was carrying a plastic grocery bag.

Park rangers contacted Starr on Tuesday above Many Parks Curve on Trail Ridge Road and attempted to assist him because they were concerned for his welfare. Starr ran from the rangers, and search crews had not been able to find him until Thursday afternoon.

Winds had grounded aerial searches, but a Colorado Parks and Wildlife ATV and a over-snow tracked vehicle and operator from Estes Park Power and Light aassisted rangers in the search.

Trail Ridge Road is the highest continuous paved road in the U.S., with its highest point reaching 12,183 feet and more than 10 miles of road above 11,500 feet. The road was closed for the season in November and is not maintained during the winter.

Mitchell Byars: 303-473-1329, byarsm@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/mitchellbyars. Alex Burness: 303-473-1389, burnessa@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/alex_burness.