PITKIN COUNTY, Colo. – The body of a man who may have been hiking alone was recovered from the Maroon Bells Wilderness Saturday after a climber reported it to Pitkin County authorities.
The man who reported the sighting was on his way to climb the Bell Cord when he spotted what appeared to be a deceased man lying in the snow just off the trail approximately half-a-mile south of Crater Lake, according to Pitkin County Sheriff Deputy Erin Smiddy.
A Mountain Rescue Aspen (MRA) team was able to reach the area just after 9:30 a.m. and confirmed the man was deceased.
Rescue crews said the man appeared to be in his early thirties and was hiking alone. He also had several visible injuries to his head and leg, yet a cause of death won't be determined until an autopsy is performed, Smiddy said.
The identity of the victim will be released by the Pitkin County Coroner’s Office once their investigations are complete, according to Smiddy.
The Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office wants to remind everyone to be prepared if you’re going to the backcountry and to always tell someone if you will be hiking or climbing alone.