Another hunter dies in southern Colorado wilderness, sheriff says

Lauren Penington, The Denver Post on Sep 28, 2025

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Another hunter died Friday in southern Colorado’s Conejos County, just over a week after two missing elk hunters who caught national attention were found dead, according to the sheriff’s office.

Conejos County dispatchers received a call for help from hunters in a remote area of the South San Juan Wilderness shortly before 11:30 p.m. Friday, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office. At that time, CPR was already in progress.

Sheriff Garth Crowther immediately activated the Conejos County Search and Rescue team, but the victim, a 54-year-old man from Tennessee, had already died when rescuers arrived, the news release stated.

“Due to hazardous nighttime conditions, it was not safe to conduct a recovery mission with the Flight for Life helicopter,” sheriff’s officials stated in the release.

Search teams and the helicopter returned to the area early Saturday morning and recovered the man’s body. The Conejos County Coroner’s Office will release his identity and cause of death.

Everyone entering the wilderness needs to be cautious and well-prepared for the challenges of the backcountry, Crowther said in the release. There is no threat to the hunting public or those observing the fall colors in the area.

The two elk hunters who died earlier this month — 25-year-old Andrew Porter of Asheville, N.C., and 25-year-old Ian Stasko of Salt Lake City — were killed by lightning, Conejos County Coroner Richard Martin said.

They were found dead about two miles from the Rio De Los Pinos trailhead in the Rio Grande National Forest, a week after they were reported missing.

The South San Juan Wilderness area is managed by both the Rio Grande National Forest and the San Juan National Forest, according to federal officials.

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