Missing Hiker ‘Loves The Outdoors’
Ian Thomas Treger, 29, was supposed to have completed his hike to Choquequirao Archaeological Park in Peru around May 20.
His mother, Michelle Ludwig, said she wasn’t worried at first when she didn’t hear back from him. Cell service in the Andes is unreliable, and she thought he may have decided to tack on a visit to Machu Picchu, a well-known archeological site in Peru.
“I wasn’t too worried because he changes his plans a lot,” she told The News-Gazette in an interview this week.
Treger, who was raised in Rockbridge County and graduated from Washington and Lee University, has been missing since May 13. Based on information from Treger’s friends, Luwdig said Treger may have decided to hike Ausangate Mountain instead of Choquequirao.
Treger grew up in Effinger, Ludwig said. He attended Effinger Elementary and gained experience camping as a Boy Scout in Lexington’s Troop 29. Treger eventually became an Eagle Scout.
While attending college at Washington and Lee, Treger obtained a Wilderness First Aid certification, became a trip leader for Overland Summers adventure camp and led one of W&L’s Appalachian Adventure trips his senior year. He graduated in 2020.
“He loves the outdoors and prefers to be away from crowds and the destinations popular with tourists,” Luwdig wrote in an email to The News-Gazette. “He is as comfortable hiking with friends as he is adventuring alone.”
Since then, Ludwig said Treger has been traveling and teaching English throughout South America. His last job was at Ecuador’s Galápagos Language Academy.
After finishing up teaching at the academy in late April, Treger traveled to mainland Ecuador and then crossed the border into Peru. Ludwig said Treger wanted to experience a month-long celebration known as “Jubilee Month” in Cusco and do some hiking in the Andes Mountains.
Ludwig notified the Peruvian authorities that Treger was missing around May 26. But Peru’s national police didn’t issue an alert until June 11, when Ludwig arrived in Peru to help search for him herself.
“I really thought something was happening, that they were looking for my son,” Ludwig told The News-Gazette. “But they weren’t.”
Two divisions of Peru’s police force have assisted in the search: the High Mountain Rescue Police and the Missing Persons Division. The U.S. Embassy in Lima has been involved as well, Ludwig said. She’s also paid private guides to help look for Treger.
“It’s been a real challenge finding information,” Ludwig said.
According to the police alert, Treger is 5 feet and 10 inches tall. He’s white, with blond hair and blue eyes. He has small tatoos featuring two pairs of whale sharks on his right calf.
Treger is the son of Ludwig and Neil Treger, a 1979 Washington and Lee graduate.
Ludwig said that anyone with pertinent information can reach her at (540) 4611233. They can also call the Peruvian authorities at (+51) 903-450-981 or dial 105.
Collierstown Presbyterian Church is collecting donations to help fund the search. Money marked for “Rescue Efforts for Ian Treger” can be mailed to the church at 31 Church Drive, Lexington, VA 24450.
Ludwig said she and the rest of Ian Treger’s family are grateful for the community’s support.
“It’s been very supportive to me to know that so many people are really, you know, rooting for this to end in a positive way,” Ludwig said. “Because it’s pretty easy to lose hope.”
