About this Case:

The victim was located September 8, 2004, by bow hunters in a remote area north of Glenwood Springs. The site is in the drainage of No Name Creek at about 9,700 feet elevation, about 6 miles as the crow flies from Glenwood Springs, but 12 miles by the Transfer Trail out of town. The skeleton revealed no cause of death and the sheriff's office has been assuming it probably was natural. The man was found in a tent at a campsite in a wooded, remote location. His trousers had rotted away, but the date of currency found at his campsite indicates he apparently had been there no longer than five years. The letter leaves open the possibility the man was suicidal, although there is no reason to believe he killed himself. Perhaps he was terminally ill and chose to take his life. The man also could have succumbed to unexpected illness or injury while on an outing in the Flat Tops. Much about the case is conjecture, including a theory that the man entered the Flat Tops Wilderness at a trailhead on the north and hiked four or five days across elevations of 11,000 feet before setting up his tent on a southern drainage at about 9,700 feet. That theory is supported by two moisture-proof National Geographic trail maps of the Flat Tops with a route drawn across them to the area where the remains were discovered. But it is possible the man picked up the maps someone else had marked and left behind.

If you have any information about this case, please contact:

Garfield County Sheriff's Office

Glenwood Springs

Colorado