Two Separate Missing Hikers Found Dead in Colorado's Indian Peaks Wilderness

The bodies of two separate missing hikers were found in the Indian Peaks Wilderness by the Boulder County Sheriff's Department.

Boulder, Colorado / Malachi Brooks/Unsplash

Two unrelated missing persons cases each found unfortunate updates after their bodies were found in Boulder Country, Colorado's Indian Peaks Wilderness per the Sheriff's Office.

The first was a 36-year-old man who was reported missing on the morning Monday, August 26.

He left on a hike and was supposed to be camping near Lake Isabelle which was available for access from the Brainard Lake Recreation Area. When he didn't return in the morning, a call was made to emergency services.

The man had a Garmin GPS device, which made finding him a bit easier. Search teams included people on the ground, dogs and a helicopter. Unfortunately, the outcome was not what anyone wanted, the hiker had already deceased when they found him.

His body was unable to be recovered until the next day due to difficult terrain. The Rocky Mountain Rescue Group and a helicopter from the Colorado Department of Fire Prevention were able to work together to recover him.

"The Boulder County Coroner’s Office will determine the identification of the climber, as well as the cause and manner of death. At this time, the death does not appear to be suspicious in nature," said the officials. No further information was made available.

That was the same statement that they used when speaking of the second hiker, who was found a few days later.

The second man was a 67-year-old that was set to return from a hike on August 29, but did not and so his family reported it officials.

His vehicle was found in the parking lot of the Middle St. Vrain Trailhead, which was an immediate sign to start the search there for emergency services.

A highly regarded, but moderately difficult trail that is supposed to take hikers about two and a half hours to complete, is not one that most people include in an overnight stay. Given that he was not expected to stay overnight, it's evident why the search started so quickly.

Search teams found the man's body near in a scree field a couple of days later on August 31.

It seems to be an incredibly unfortunate coincidence that the bodies were found nearby and around the same time. There are no signs that the two deaths were linked in any way.