Richard Moody is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the two-week search for Palenville native Steven Beare was officially called off Wed., Jun. 28. The Catskill High School graduate went missing while climbing Mount Elbrus in Russia. He began his ascent on June 14, but failed to check in with an official and his wife, Olivia, on June 16. Olivia said in a statement this week that the private search team hired by the family was packing and leaving Russia on Friday. Beare is believed to have disappeared during a snowstorm as he scaled the face of the 18,510-foot-high mountain, the highest peak in Europe. “I do not want to give up hope,” said Greene County Legislator Matt Luvera, who knows Steven and Olivia Bear from St. Patrick’s Church in Catskill. “I ask everyone to support the family any way they can and to pray for them.” Read the full story at Hudson Valley 360 [dot] com.