ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK, Colo. – The man believed to be missing hiker Brian Perri is thought to have died instantly after falling between 25 and 40 feet below the summit of Mount Meeker, a spokesperson for Rocky Mountain National Park said Tuesday.
The park said Monday that they had on Saturday found a body believed to be that of Perri, 38, an experienced hiker from Fort Collins who was last seen June 30 when he texted a photo of himself atop the summit of Mt. Meeker. He was reported missing July 5 after he never returned home.
The body found Saturday has not officially been confirmed as that of Perri’s, but RMNP spokesperson Kyle Patterson said park officials believe it is him.
Patterson said in a news release that Perri’s body was found downhill and southwest of the 13,911-foot mountain’s summit.
“He was found above tree line at the base of a steep, nearly vertical drop off, consisting of large boulders, loose rock and talus scree slope,” Patterson said.
The release said search and rescue workers had been in the vicinity in which the body was found but said the terrain, size of rocks and the clothing Perri was wearing made him difficult to find.
And the park says it’s a bit of a coincidence he was found when and where he was after weeks of searches. A park visitor who injured their leg on July 28 in the area had activated a satellite GPS tracking device. The park says a ranger found the body believed to be Perri while searching for the injured hiker.
The hiker was also discovered and flown out of the area the next morning.
The Boulder County Coroner’s Office will release the identification after an autopsy.