Tourists find woman’s body below popular Rocky Mountain trail, Colorado rangers say

Visitors at Rocky Mountain National Park discovered a body last week below a popular hiking trail, rangers said.

Tourists at the national park told rangers they found a woman’s body below The Loch, a popular hiking destination within the park.

The body was found in drainage below The Loch on Friday, park officials said. Weather prevented rangers from retrieving the body until Sunday.

“Park rangers attempted to reach the location on Friday night, but lightning storms and darkness hampered those efforts,” park officials said in a news release. “On Saturday, June 19, Rocky Mountain National Park Search and Rescue Team members were again hampered by weather while conducting field operations.”

A search and rescue team of 28 people pulled the body from below the Loch Vale Trail on Sunday.

“The woman’s body was extricated up 60 feet through steep, rocky, hazardous terrain to the Loch Vale Trail and then wheeled out by litter to the Glacier Gorge Trailhead,” rangers said.

Her body was taken to the Larimer County Coroner/Medical Examiner’s Office. Park officials didn’t release her name, and the incident is under investigation.

This story was originally published June 21, 2021 at 1:34 PM with the headline "Tourists find woman’s body below popular Rocky Mountain trail, Colorado rangers say."