GRAND COUNTY, Colo. — Search and rescue crews in Grand County recovered the body of an overdue climber Wednesday near the Lone Eagle Peak area of the Indian Peaks Wilderness.
The Grand County Sheriff's Office and Boulder County Sheriff's Office were both notified of the overdue climber on Tuesday morning and learned that the route the climber planned to take was primarily in Grand County, prompting crews to begin their search. A short time later, at 12:15 p.m., the sheriff's office said hikers in the area reported finding a deceased man near Lone Eagle Peak.
A Flight For Life helicopter assisted with getting search crews closer to the area until about 3 p.m., when recovery operations were suspended due to weather and access issues, the sheriff's office said.
At about 6 a.m. Wednesday, crews resumed recovery operations, which included using a firefighting helicopter to bring four technical rope specialists from Boulder to the base of Lone Eagle Peak. Four other rescuers with Grand County Search and Rescue served as backup assistance and to act as a radio relay.
"As the subject’s location was approximately eight miles into the Indian Peaks Wilderness and on technical terrain, a ground-based recovery would have been extremely dangerous and time consuming," the sheriff's office said.
At about 1 p.m., crews were able to recover and transport the man's body to the Grand County Coroner. The man's identity and manner of death will be released by the coroner in the coming days.
"We are grateful to our partner agencies that provided assistance: Grand County Search and Rescue, Rocky Mountain Rescue Group, Front Range Rescue Dogs, Colorado Search and Rescue Association, Civil Air Patrol Cellular Forensics Team, Flight for Life, Colorado Division of Fire Protection and Control, Boulder County Sheriff’s Office, Boulder Emergency Squad, Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests, and the Grand County Coroner’s Office," the sheriff's office said.
