CONEJOS COUNTY, Colo. — Two missing elk hunters found dead this week in southern Colorado had no visible injuries or initial signs of foul play, the Conejos County coroner told Denver7 Friday.
Andrew Porter, 25, of Asheville, North Carolina, and Ian Stasko, 25, of Salt Lake City, Utah, went missing during an elk hunting trip west of Trujillo Meadows Reservoir, which is about 4 miles north of the Colorado-New Mexico line.
They were expected to check in with family at a certain time but never did, according to the Conejos County Sheriff's Office. They were last heard from Thursday, Sept. 11, when severe storms moved into the area.
Deputies began to search for them Saturday in the Rio De Los Pinos Trailhead and eventually found their car, which had their camping gear and backpacks inside. Authorities said those findings were of concern due to recent poor weather in the area.
Search and rescue crews began searching for the duo on foot, in the air and with dogs earlier this week, and a verified GoFundMe was created to help with search efforts.
But in an update to the GoFundMe Thursday, Lynne Runkle, Porter's aunt, said both had been found dead earlier that day by Colorado Search and Rescue.
The Conejos County Sheriff's Office confirmed deputies recovered the bodies of two males about two miles from the Rio De Los Pinos Trail Head around 11 a.m. following an "extensive search operation” involving more than 170 personnel, but did not identify them at the time pending notification to family.
On Friday, Conejos County Coroner Richard Martin confirmed the identities of both hunters to Denver7 over the phone and said full autopsies were scheduled for Monday in El Paso County.
Denver7's Micah Smith was in contact on Friday with one of the hunter's family members, who said the family wasn't ready to talk before our cameras as they process the news – but that they appreciate the community and volunteer support they've received thus far.
Denver7 is committed to learning more about what happened in this case. We reached out to the sheriff's offices in Conejos and La Plata Counties on Friday and had not gotten a response.
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