News Release

Search for Missing Party in Dinosaur National Monument Finds One Injured, One Deceased

Date: March 22, 2020
Contact: Sonya Popelka, 435.781.7701

UPDATED TO ADD HOMETOWNS

Dinosaur, CO & Jensen, UT – Park Rangers at Dinosaur National Monument responded to a request from the Moffat County Sheriff's Office on Thursday, March 19, 2020 to assist in the search for two missing Colorado residents. The two men were last reported to be snowmobiling in the Wild Mountain area near the northwest boundary of Dinosaur National Monument, along the border of Utah and Colorado. 

The men were eventually located using helicopter surveillance inside a remote area of Dinosaur National Monument on Saturday, March 21, 2020. One man, 58, from Deer Trail, CO, was found deceased. The other man, 65, from Thornton, CO, was found alive and transported to a nearby hospital. 

The collaborative response to this incident included the Moffat County Sheriff's Office, Moffat County Search and Rescue, Uintah County Sheriff's Office, Uintah County Search and Rescue, Utah Department of Natural Resources, and air support from the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control, Classic Air Medical, and Utah Department of Public Safety. The joint investigation between the Moffat County Sheriff's Office and National Park Service is ongoing with assistance from the Uintah County Sheriff's Office.