A HIKER has been found dead near to where two elk hunters were killed after they were struck by lightning.
Remains were found late on a remote Colorado trail on Friday night, sparking mystery.
A hiker has been mysteriously found dead near to where two elk hunters were struck by lightning[/caption]
Ian Stasko and Andrew Porter were found dead – a week after they vanished from the radar[/caption]
A man’s body was discovered after cops received a 911 call from a group of hunters.
The remains have not been identified but the man, 54, is believed to be from Tennessee.
Investigators had to wait several hours for the weather to improve before they could retrieve the body, as reported by the Denver Post.
Sheriffs described the conditions as “hazardous” and this meant a helicopter couldn’t be used to access the site at night.
They had to wait until the following morning to recover the body.
The man’s cause of death remains unknown, shrouding the case in mystery.
The chilling discovery comes more than a week after elk hunters, Andrew Porter and Ian Stasko’s bodies were found.
The hunters, both 25, were found around two miles from the De Los Pinos trailhead in the Rio Grande National Forest.
The forest spans around 1.8 million acres across southwestern Colorado.
Their bodies were discovered around a week after they were reported missing.
Porter, from North Carolina, and Utah resident Stasko were supposed to return to their respective states on September 17, but they failed to do so.
The last-known ping on their Garmin InReach communication device was on September 11 before they seemingly vanished from the radar.
That location was to near where their car was parked.
Family members had received constant updates regarding the pair’s location on the four previous days.
Porter and Stasko were reportedly last seen at around 10am on September 12 at the Spruce Hole trailhead by a group of fellow hunters.
But, their car was moved to the De Los Pinos trailhead one hour later.
TRAGIC END
The duo’s mysterious disappearance sparked a frantic hunt that involved K9 teams and search and rescue crews.
Crews scoured both trails and searched drains, ridgelines and timbered areas.
Porter’s fiancee, Bridget Murphy, paid a heartbreaking tribute after it was revealed the pair had been found dead.
She said her partner was killed by a “bizarre horrific act of nature.”
“My heart is split in half. I am no longer whole,” she posted on social media.
“I don’t know how to do life without you Andrew. You are my all. 6.5 years was not enough with you. We had so many plans left unfinished.”
Bridget paid a glowing tribute to her partner, describing him as one of a kind.
She opened up on one of the last moments the pair spoke.
“A few days before the accident, he got a brief moment of phone service on the mountain and FaceTimed me,” she said.
“It was brief and glitchy – but he was smiling and full of happiness with Ian there.
“Andrew was one of a kind, there is no one truly like him. He did not have one enemy, he truly was something special.
“And that’s why he was such good friends with Ian – because man they were unstoppable together.”
Porter, a skilled woodworker, loved being outdoors, his family said in an obit.
“A skilled woodworker, his love of carpentry grew over the years into a true craft – testament to his drive, ingenuity, and refusal to ever sit idle,” they said.
“Andrew was an avid fly fisherman, snowboarder, and hunter.
“He found both peace and excitement in the rivers and mountains alike, embracing the outdoors with the same zeal that defined his life – never wanting to miss a single moment.”
The bodies were found near the Rio de Los Pinos Trailhead[/caption]
Helicopters at the scene[/caption]
