WOODLAND PARK, Colo. — Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s (CPW) water rescue team recovered the body of a man who was in Rampart Reservoir, just west of Colorado Springs, early Sunday, according to an agency release.
The man, who was paddleboarding, went missing during what the agency called a "wind event" on Saturday afternoon, and the search lasted late in into the night, according to CPW. Rampart is a 500-acre reservoir about five miles east of Woodland Park in far western El Paso County.
According to the release, the Colorado Springs Fire Department (CSFD) responded to the initial call for help at Rampart after witnesses reported seeing a man fall into the reservoir and disappear.
CPW said witnesses reported that a dog that was on the paddleboard managed to stay on the board initially before eventually swimming to shore in the 62-degree water.
CSFD staff first searched for the paddleboarder using a helicopter before calling in CPW’s Marine Evidence Recovery Team (MERT). The team is led by Grant Brown, CPW’s boating safety program manager.
CPW said MERT officers use a specialized CPW boat equipped with multiple sonar devices, including a submersible, remote-operated vehicle (ROV) equipped with sonar, lights and a video camera to execute water recovery searches.
Around 7p.m., Brown and CPW Rangers from Denver, Steamboat Springs and Walsenburg arrived at the reservoir and searched the water in the area where witnesses last saw the paddleboarder.
At 1 a.m., CPW said a sonar towed in the water by its boat located the paddleboarder in water about 67 feet deep. CPW said its rangers used the ROV to confirm the body and recover it, which took until about 2 a.m.
The El Paso County Coroner’s Office took custody of the body 4:30 a.m. and has not yet coroner identified the victim or determined the cause of death.
“This is a tragedy, and we offer our condolences to the family and friends of the victim,” Brown said. “We’ve experienced far too many water deaths in Colorado. We urge everyone on or near the water to please wear a life jacket.
“When someone is plunged into such cold water, the shock from cold water immersion can cause your entire body to cramp leaving you unable to swim," he said. "You can die in one or two minutes.”
There have been more than 30 recreational drownings in 2024, according to CPW's unofficial count.