New details on severed foot found at Eldora

Officials continued the search for additional human remains at Eldora Mountain Ski Resort Thursday after a severed foot was found in a boot late Wednesday afternoon.

The boot was found by an employee of the resort at around 4:30 p.m. while the employee was working in a clearing near the base of the mountain, Cmdr. Mike Wagner of the Boulder County Sheriff's Office stated in a news release.

The snow-style boot is a men's size 13 Rugged Outback boot, according to a statement issued by the sheriff's office on Thursday. The boot is for a left foot.

"Inside the boot was a black sock and human remains consisting of a foot and the lower leg bones," investigators stated.

On Wednesday, crews searched a 400-by-100 foot area around the boot and did not find any additional human remains, officials said.

"The sheriff's Emergency Services Unit is continuing to coordinate the search and are being assisted by personnel from the Rocky Mountain Rescue Group, Boulder Emergency Services, Larimer County Search & Rescue, Arapahoe Rescue Patrol, Search & Rescue Dogs of Colorado, Search & Rescue Dogs of the United States, Nederland Fire Protection District, Eldora Mountain Ski Resort, and the sheriff's Mounted Search & Rescue Unit. Thirty-three searchers, 6 SAR / cadaver dogs, and 5 horses, are being utilized in today's search effort," the sheriff's office stated.

Deputies at the scene Wednesday noted that the boot was wet and weathered and had likely been concealed by the snow pack, which had only recently melted away.

Deputies do not yet know how long the boot and the remains had been in the clearing.

Investigators stated that they believe the remains are not those of Ryder Johnson, 20, from Lafayette. Johnson was reported missing in January and had ties to the resort.

"Investigators are continuing to comb through missing person reports and have provided information to other law enforcement agencies across the state and country in an attempt to identify potentially related missing person cases," the sheriff's office stated.