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2h ago

Third Hunter Dies in South San Juan Wilderness After Nighttime Recovery Delay

Officials say there is no ongoing threat, with the coroner set to determine the cause through an 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

  • A 54-year-old man from Tennessee was found unresponsive late Friday after hunters called for help from a remote area of the South San Juan Wilderness.
  • Callers reported performing CPR around 11:23–11:30 p.m., and Conejos County Search and Rescue determined the man had died upon arrival.
  • Hazardous nighttime conditions prevented an immediate helicopter recovery, and teams with a Flight for Life aircraft retrieved the body early Saturday.
  • The El Paso County Coroner will conduct the autopsy, and the man's identity remains withheld pending notification of next of kin.
  • The death follows separate September fatalities of Andrew Porter and Ian Stasko, both 25, which the coroner attributed to a lightning strike, and Sheriff Garth Crowther is urging careful preparation for backcountry travel.