Missing Elk Hunters Found Dead in Colorado

UPDATE: Every week-long seek for two lacking elk hunters in Colorado’s rugged Rio Grande Nationwide Forest has resulted in tragedy, as search and rescue groups positioned the our bodies of the 2 males. Andrew Porter, 25, of Asheville, North Carolina, and Ian Stasko, 25, of Salt Lake Metropolis, Utah, have been discovered deceased on Thursday, September 18, 2025, in keeping with a publish from Porter’s household.

The 2 skilled outdoorsmen have been final heard from on September 11, when Porter despatched a location ping from his Garmin InReach satellite tv for pc system to his fiancée, Bridget Murphy. The ping got here from close to the Rio de Los Pinos trailhead in Recreation Administration Unit 81, a notoriously tough terrain in southern Colorado close to the New Mexico border.

Whereas the precise reason behind loss of life has not been formally launched, the difficult climate situations and the lads’s restricted gear counsel the potential of publicity or hypothermia. The case has served as a somber reminder of the risks of the backcountry, even for seasoned hunters.

Authorities in southern Colorado are within the midst of an intensive effort to find two lacking elk hunters who disappeared final week within the rugged San Juan Nationwide Forest Wilderness Space.

The Conejos County Sheriff’s Workplace says Andrew Porter, 25, of Asheville, North Carolina, and Ian Stasko, 25, of Salt Lake Metropolis, Utah, have been reported overdue on Saturday after failing to verify in with family members at an agreed-upon time. The pair had been searching close to the Rio De Los Pinos Trailhead, west of Trujillo Meadows Reservoir.

Deputies responding to the decision found the lads’s automobile on the trailhead. Inside have been their tenting gear and backpacks — an alarming signal that they by no means made it again to their base. Extreme climate had swept via the area within the previous days, elevating considerations about their security.

“The storms that moved in Thursday introduced thunder, lightning, fog and regular rain, making situations very harmful,” the sheriff’s workplace stated.