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3h ago

Third Hunter Dies in Colorado’s South San Juan Wilderness

Officials emphasize backcountry preparedness, with the cause pending autopsy.

CREEDE, COLORADO - AUGUST 7: A jeep makes its way slowly along the difficult and technical 4x4 road leading to the Wheeler Geologic Area in the Rio Grande National Forest on August 7, 2020 near Creede, Colorado. The Wheeler Geologic Area is a highly eroded outcropping of layers of volcanic ash, in the La Garita Mountains of Mineral County. The ash is the result of eruptions from the La Garita Caldera approximately 25 million years ago. The unique area is one of the most fascinating geological features in the San Juan Mountains. The geologic formations are contained in a tiny 60-acre section of the Rio Grande National Forest. In this area a mound of volcanic ash has eroded into a bizarre and beautiful landscape. It is now part of the La Garita Wilderness and administered by the Rio Grande National Forest. Lying just below the crest of the range at an elevation of 11,960 feet and can be reached either by an 8.4-mile hike on the East Bellows Trail (FS790), or by a difficult 14 mile four-wheel drive road. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)
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Overview

  • The Conejos County Sheriff’s Office received a call around 11:30 p.m. Friday from hunters performing CPR on a man in a remote area of the South San Juan Wilderness.
  • Search and rescue teams arrived to find the 54-year-old Tennessee hunter deceased, and hazardous nighttime conditions postponed an aerial recovery.
  • A Flight for Life helicopter and ground teams returned at first light Saturday to recover the body.
  • The man’s identity is being withheld pending notification of relatives, and the El Paso County Coroner will conduct an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
  • The death follows the earlier fatalities of Andrew Porter and Ian Stasko, both 25, whom the coroner determined were killed by lightning, as the sheriff urges visitors to be well prepared and notes no ongoing threat to the public.