SUMMIT COUNTY, Colo. — A speed flyer who went missing after launching from a peak in Summit County was found dead Saturday.
A friend of the victim contacted authorities around 9:38 a.m. Saturday to report that he and his friend were speed flying — which is a sport similar to paragliding that uses a smaller wing designed for descent — and his friend hadn’t made it down to their planned landing spot, according to the Summit County Rescue Group. The man who reported his missing friend said he had launched first from Peak 6 and landed in the Far East parking lot at Copper Mountain Resort. The victim launched behind him with a speed wing, which should have made his flight much shorter, so when the man couldn’t find his friend or get into contact with him, he called 911, the rescue group said.
A team of rescuers traveled to the top of Peak 6 in a utility terrain vehicle from the Breckenridge side to search for the missing speed flyer around 10:30 a.m., and a Flight for Life helicopter also launched to assist in the search, according to the rescue group.
The Flight for Life crew spotted the missing man, landed about a quarter-mile above him and hiked down to him. They determined he did not survive, the rescue group said. His speed wing was found tangled up with a tree that had its top broken off.
Rescue crews were able to evacuate the speed flyer’s body from the area and make it out of the field by 6:45 p.m.
The victim’s body was taken to the Summit County coroner. The coroner’s office will release further information on the victim at a later time.
