VALLECITO, Colo. — At about 9:18 p.m. on Saturday night, La Plata County Search and Rescue crews responded to a call of two missing skiers near Vallecito Reservoir.
The two men, James Sutton, 67, and Jurgen Montgomery, 47, were identified by the La Plata County coroner on Monday.
The men reportedly left to ski at 7 a.m. on Saturday and had planned to return by noon.
La Plata County deputies located the victims' vehicle near a road on the south end of the lake.
Shortly after the initial report, search crews as well as Flight For Life helicopter used cell phone records to begin their search.
Using avalanche beacon technology, at 11:42 p.m. the helicopter crew identified ski tracks and at 3:06 a.m. ground crews discovered a single ski near the area.
Shortly after at about 3:36 a.m., crews were able to locate both men buried under about four feet of snow.
9NEWS+ has multiple live daily shows including 9NEWS Mornings, Next with Kyle Clark and 9NEWS+ Daily, an original streaming program. 9NEWS+ is where you can watch live breaking news, weather updates, and press conferences. You can also replay recent newscasts and find videos on demand of our top stories, local politics, investigations and Colorado specific features.
To download 9NEWS+ on Roku search for KUSA.
To download 9NEWS+ on Fire TV search for 9NEWS.
Top stories from 9NEWS curated daily just for you! Sign up for the 9NEWSLETTER right now to get can’t-miss stories, Next and Broncos content, weather and more delivered right to your inbox.