Authorities in Colorado have recovered the body of a 29-year-old solo rock climber who had gone missing in the Rocky Mountains over the Labor Day weekend.
The Summit County Rescue Group (SCRG) successfully located the 29-year-old male climber’s body on Sunday, September 3, near Officers Gulch, also known as Officers Wall. The climber’s identity has not been disclosed.
The incident began when a friend of the climber reported him missing. The friend had been in contact with the climber while he was on the mountain, but he failed to return as expected. The last contact with the climber occurred around 5 pm on Saturday, September 2, when he indicated he would be heading home shortly.
However, by 10 pm, he had not returned, prompting concern.
Search efforts commenced, involving SCRG and the Summit County Sheriff’s Office. They scoured the area, including the bike path between Officers Gulch and Frisco, as well as the trail known as Halfway Rock. Due to safety concerns in the dark and traffic noise from I-70, the search was briefly suspended during the night and resumed at 6 am on Sunday.
Progress was made when the climber’s family provided his last known location using a shared phone location app and a video he had sent the day before. At 7:50 am, SCRG rescuers found the climber’s body at the base of a cliff, leading to an accident investigation by the Summit County Sheriff’s Office.
Following the investigation, a technical team rigged a system to recover the climber’s body from the boulder field, concluding the operation around noon on Sunday. The body was then sent to the Summit County Coroner’s Office.
Authorities extended their condolences to the deceased climber’s loved ones. They also highlighted the importance of safety precautions for solo climbers and their families, emphasizing the value of sharing expected return times and utilizing location-sharing apps.