CONEJOS COUNTY, Colo. — The two hunters, including a Salt Lake City man, who died in Colorado's backcountry last week were struck by lightning, a coroner confirmed Monday.
The bodies of Andrew Porter of Asheville, North Carolina, and Ian Stasko of Salt Lake City, Utah, both 25 years old, were found a couple miles away from a trailhead in Conejos County on Sept. 18.
On Monday afternoon, the Conejos County coroner said that men died from a lightning strike, although the official autopsy report won't become available until after eight to 10 weeks.
On Sept. 16, the Conejos County Sheriff's Office announced that the two men had disappeared during an elk hunting trip west of Trujillo Meadows Reservoir, which is about 4 miles north of the Colorado-New Mexico line.
Their loved ones had been expecting them to check in at a predetermined time, but they never did, the sheriff's office said. The families have not heard from the men since Sept. 11, when severe storms pummeled the area. Two days after, on Sept. 13, deputies with the sheriff's office responded to the Rio De Los Pinos Trailhead to try to locate the two men. They found their vehicle with camping gear and backpacks inside, but did not find the men.
The sheriff's office said this concerned deputies because of the recent poor weather. Porter's fiancée, Bridget Murphy, told FOX 13 News partner KOAA that while they are experienced hunters, "bad cold storms and fog came in quickly and continuously until Sunday (Sept. 14) morning."
The search for the men included crews on foot, in the air and with dogs. More than 54 teams of professionally trained Search and Rescue personnel from Colorado, Texas, Arkansas, Wyoming and other states were involved, as well as volunteers.
They were found deceased on Sept. 18 by Colorado Search and Rescue, family members said. That day, the sheriff's office confirmed they had found the bodies of two males about two miles from the Rio De Los Pinos Trailhead around 11 a.m. following an "extensive search operation" and confirmed the identities the following day.
Conejos County Coroner Richard Martin previously said there were no visible injuries on the men's bodies and no "initial signs of foul play."
